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What word is used to describe whales?
Catalogue, Family and Genus Classification:
Subspecies:
size
Physical characteristics:
Living habits:
Predation:
Life cycle:
Voice:
Population and whaling:
Distribution:
Related information:
The biggest and heaviest animal.
Latin scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus
English name: blue whale
Classification of families and genera:
Field: Eukaryotes.
Field: Animal Kingdom (Animal Kingdom)
Portal: Chordata (Chordata)
Subphylum: vertebrates
Class: mammals
Objective: Cetacea (Cetacea)
Suborder: Mysterious body
Family: Papilionidae.
Genus: Lepidoptera
Species: blue whale
Subspecies:
Divided into the following three subspecies:
● b.m intermedia burmeister (1871) Southern blue whales are distributed in the southern hemisphere; The female body length of southern blue whale is 23 ~ 24m, the male body length is 22m, and the mature body length is 26 ~ 27m and 24 ~ 25m respectively.
The northern blue whale (B.m. musculus Linnaeus, 1958) is distributed in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. The female body length of northern blue whale is 2 1 ~ 23m, the male sexual maturity is 20 ~ 2 1~23m, and the body length is 25 and 24m respectively.
● The small blue whale (B.M. Brevicaukta Ichihara, 1966) is distributed in the sub-Antarctic waters of the Indian Ocean and the Southeast Atlantic Ocean. When the female body length is 19m, the male body length is slightly less than 19m, and the female body length is 22 and 2 1m respectively.
The blue whale is one of the seven species of Zombie. However, DNA sequencing analysis shows that blue whales are closer to humpback whales and gray whales than other species in their genus. There are at least 1 1 articles about adult offspring of blue whale/fin whale hybridization. Aronson and Gerberg (1983) think that the difference between blue whales and fin whales is similar to that between humans and gorillas. It is generally believed that cetaceans were separated from other families of baleen suborder as early as the middle Oligocene. But I don't know when the members of these departments separated.
Phylogenetic Tree of Animals Related to Blue Whale Some authoritative organizations divide this species into three subspecies: small blue whales, including populations in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific; Intermediate pomfret, including the Southern Ocean population; B. m. brevicauda (also known as pygmy blue whale), including populations in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific. Early authorities listed the Indian Ocean population as a subspecies called B. m. indica. But unlike the other three subspecies, the name of the last subspecies did not appear on the red list of endangered species. At present, these two classification methods are still questioned by some scientists; Genetic analysis shows that there are only two subspecies.
The species name musculus comes from Latin, which means "strong", but it can also be understood as "little mouse". Linnai completed this kind of naming in 1758. He may know this and then use this ironic pun humorously. There are other common names for blue whales, such as sulfur bottom whale, Sibbald Rockall whale, Great Blue whale and Great Northern Rockall whale, which have been gradually forgotten in recent decades.
size
The blue whale is the largest species among baleen whales. The oldest whale is a female whale caught in Antarctic waters between 1904 and 1920. It is 33.58 meters long and weighs 170 tons.
The blue whale is the largest animal that has ever lived on the earth. The largest known creature in the dinosaur era is the Mesozoic Argentinean dragon, which is estimated to be 90 tons (100 short tons). The weight of the largest blue whale is uncertain. Most of the data are taken from blue whales killed in Antarctic waters in the first half of the 20th century, and the data are measured by whalers who are not proficient in standard animal measurement methods. The longest whales recorded are two females, 33.6 meters (1 10 ft 3 in) and 33.3 meters (109 ft 3 in) respectively. However, the reliability of these measurements is controversial. The longest whale measured by scientists at the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) is 29.9 meters (98 feet), which is about the length of a Boeing 737 or three double-decker buses.
The head of the blue whale is so big that 50 people can stand on its tongue. Its heart is as big as a car. Babies can climb through its arteries, and newborn blue whale cubs are heavier than an adult elephant. In the first seven months of life, young whales drink 400 liters (100 US gallon) of breast milk every day. Young whales grow very fast, gaining 90 kilograms (200 pounds) every 24 hours.
Because the blue whale is huge, we can't weigh it directly. Most blue whales are not weighed by the whole head, and whalers will cut them into appropriate sizes before weighing them. This way underestimates the weight of the blue whale, because it will lose blood and other body fluids. Even so, it is recorded that a whale 27 meters (88 feet 6 inches) long weighs 150- 170 tons (160- 190 short tons). NMML scientists believe that whales 30 meters (98 feet) long are estimated to exceed 180 tons (200 short tons). At present, the maximum weight of blue whale accurately measured by NMML scientists is 177 tons (197 short tons).
Physical characteristics:
Females are bigger than males, and southern blue whales are bigger than northern blue whales. Seen from above, the kiss is wide and flat. The dorsal fin is small, about 0.4m high, and 1/4 is at the back of the body. The flippers are small, accounting for 15% of the body length. The caudal fin is 1/3 to 1/4 in length, and the trailing edge is straight. There are 55 ~ 88 puncture grooves, the longest of which can reach the navel. 270 ~ 395 whiskers per side. The back of the body is dark gray-blue, the abdomen is slightly light, and the mouth must be black.
Blue whales are different from other kinds of whales. They are short and strong, while the vertebral body of blue whales is very long and looks like it has been elongated. The head is flat and U-shaped, and the pores from the upper lip to the back have obvious ridges. There are dense baleen plates at the front of the mouth, and about 300 baleen plates (about 1 m long) hang down from the upper jaw and pass through the mouth for about half a meter. 60-90 grooves (called abdominal folds) are parallel to the body along the throat. These folds are used to discharge seawater that has been swallowed in large quantities (see the section on "predation").
The dorsal fin of the blue whale is so small that it can only be seen briefly when diving. The shape of dorsal fin varies from individual to individual; Some fins have only one protrusion just visible, while others are very eye-catching and sickle-shaped. The dorsal fin is located about three-quarters of the body length. When reaching the surface to breathe, blue whales lift their shoulders and stomata off the water to a greater extent than other large whales (such as fin whales and pomfret). This can usually be used as a useful clue to identify marine species. When breathing, if it is calm, the spectacular vertical water column (up to 12 m, usually 9 m) ejected by the blue whale can be seen thousands of meters away. The vital capacity of the blue whale is 5000 liters.
The fin foot of a blue whale is 3-4 meters long. The top is gray and the narrow side is white. The bottom is all white. The head and caudal fin are generally gray. But the back and sometimes flippers are usually variegated. The degree of variegated color varies from person to person, and the difference is obvious. Some may be gray all over, while others are dark blue. Gray and black are quite mixed together.
When blue whales interact with other whales, they can sprint at a speed of 50 km/h (30 mph), but usually swim at a speed of 20 km/h (12 mph). Slow down to 5km/h(3 mph) when eating. Blue whales in the North Atlantic and the North Pacific lift their tail fins when diving, but most other blue whales don't.
Living habits:
Blue whales feed on plankton, mainly krill. A blue whale consumes 2 ~ 4t food every day. The swimming speed is 2 ~ 6 km/h when feeding, 5 ~ 33 km when migrating, and the maximum forced speed is 20 ~ 48 km per hour. General 10 ~ 20 dive is followed by a deep dive. Shallow dive interval 12 ~ 20 seconds, deep dive sustainable 10 ~ 30 minutes. The spray column is narrow and straight, with a height of 6 ~ 12m. The blue whale is sexually mature at the age of 10. Northern blue whales breed and mate in late autumn and early winter. The southern hemisphere mates in the south in winter, with the peak in July. The reproductive period between the northern and southern hemispheres is half a year apart. The gestation period is 10 ~ 1 1 month. The calf is 6 ~ 7 meters long and weighs about 6 tons. The lactation period is half a year, and the weaning time can reach 16m. The highest age is estimated to be between 30 and 80-90.
Predation:
Blue whales only prey on krill, and the plankton eaten by blue whales belong to different species according to different marine areas. In the North Atlantic, northern krill, African krill, African krill and long-tailed krill are the main foods of blue whales. In the North Pacific, krill, sea mulberry, sea mulberry with long handle, sea mulberry and sea mulberry are the main foods; In Antarctica, Antarctic krill, Crystal krill and Varan krill are the main foods of blue whales.
Blue whales usually prey on the densest krill they can find, which means that blue whales need to feed in deep water (100 meters or more) during the day and can only feed on the surface at night. The diving time of blue whales foraging is generally 10 minute. It is not unusual to dive for 20 minutes, and the longest diving time is 36 minutes (Sears, 1998). In the process of hunting, blue whales swallow a large group of krill at a time and a lot of seawater at the same time. Then squeeze the abdominal cavity and tongue, and squeeze the seawater out through the baleen. When the seawater in the mouth is completely discharged, the blue whale will swallow the remaining krill that cannot pass through the baleen whale board.
Life cycle:
Blue whales begin to mate after autumn and continue until the end of winter. We know nothing about mating behavior and breeding grounds. Females give birth every 2-3 years, usually in the early winter after 10- 12 months of pregnancy. This calf weighs about 2.5 tons and is about 7 meters long. About six months later, the calf was weaned and its length doubled. Blue whales generally reach sexual maturity at the age of 8- 10, when the males are at least 20 meters long (longer in the southern hemisphere). The female is relatively large and sexually mature at about 5 years old. At this time, the body length is about 2 1 m.
Scientists estimate that the life span of blue whales is at least 80 years; However, since individual records cannot be traced back to the whaling era, it will take many years to determine the exact life span of whales. The longest recorded research on a single individual was conducted in the Northeast Pacific for 34 years (Sears 1998 report). The natural enemy of the blue whale is the killer whale. Calambokidis et al. (1990) found that 25% of adult blue whales have scars left by killer whale attacks. However, there is no exact data on the death rate caused by the attack.
It is rare for a blue whale to run aground. Because of its special group structure, we have never heard of the stranding of blue whales. But when the grounding does happen, it will attract much attention. 1920, a blue whale ran aground on the beach of Lewis Island, Hebrides Island outside Scotland. It was hit on the head by a whaling ship, but the harpoon didn't explode. Like other animals, blue whales instinctively keep breathing at all costs. Stranding can keep it from being bored to death. Two whale bones standing on the roadside of Luis Island attracted a large number of tourists.
Vocal music:
The blue whale is the loudest animal in the world. Cummings and Thompson (197 1 year) and Richardson et al. (1995) said that the sound of the blue whale can reach 1 55-/kloc-0 at the sound source by measuring the reference pressure at the distance from the blue whale1meter. Even considering the different impedances and standard reference pressures of water and air, the equivalent range in air is still 89- 122 dB. In contrast, the sound of a pneumatic drill is about 100 decibel. But humans may not realize that the blue whale is the loudest animal. The fundamental frequency of all blue whale populations is 10-40 Hz, and the lowest frequency that humans can detect is 20 Hz. The sound duration of the blue whale is 10-30 seconds. According to records, the sound of blue whales off the coast of Sri Lanka repeatedly sings a four-note "song", which lasts for two minutes at a time, reminding people of the song of humpback whales. The researchers believe that because this phenomenon has not been seen in other people, it may be unique to B. m. brevicauda (dwarf).
Distribution:
In the world, Antarctic waters are the most effective, mainly in temperate and cold waters with water temperature of 5 ~ 20℃, and a few whales have swam in the waters of the Yellow Sea and Taiwan Province Province. Blue whale is one of the most important economic species and contains a lot of fat. Internationally, it is stipulated that the oil production of blue whales should be used as the conversion unit, that is, 1 blue whales = 2 fin whales = 2.5 humpback whales = 6 fin whales. Since modern whaling began, blue whales have been caught indiscriminately. During the peak period of 1930 ~ 3 1, nearly 30,000 blue whales were killed worldwide. 1966, the international whaling commission declared the blue whale as a protected object. Before the development, there were at least 200,000 blue whales, and now it is estimated that there are at most13,000 blue whales. According to the statistical report published by the International Whaling Commission 1989, there are only 200 ~ 453 blue whales. This is based on an eight-year survey in the southern hemisphere, which is on the verge of extinction.
Since whaling was banned, the number of blue whales in the world has remained basically unchanged, about 3000-4000. Since the establishment of the Red List of Endangered Species, the blue whale has been listed as an endangered species on the Red List. There are about 2,000 blue whales in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, which are concentrated between Alaska and Costa Rica, but they are common in California in summer. In the long run, this number is the hope of increasing the number of blue whales. Sometimes they drift to the northwest Pacific; It is recorded between kamchatka peninsula and the northern end of Japan.
The population of southern ocean blue whale is between 750- 1200, and the migration mode of this population is not well understood. They may be different from the uncertain people who often appear on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka. Some blue whales in the Southern Ocean population are close to the east coast of the South Pacific. In Chile, people found blue whales gathering on the coast of Lu Zhi Island for food, so the Chilean Whale Conservation Center, with the support of the Chilean navy, conducted extensive research and protection on them.
There are two populations of blue whales living in the North Atlantic. The first one is located in Greenland, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and St. Lawrence Bay. It is estimated that there are about 500 heads. The second one is farther east, in the Azores in spring and in Iceland in July and August. It is speculated that whales move between these two volcanic islands along the mid-Atlantic ridge. In addition to Iceland, although extremely rare, blue whales can also be found in Svalbard and Jan Mayen. Scientists don't know where these blue whales spend the winter. The population of the whole North Atlantic is between 600- 1500.
Humans pose a threat to the recovery of the blue whale population. Polychlorinated biphenyls can accumulate in the blood of blue whales, leading to their poisoning and premature death. At the same time, the noise brought by the increasing ocean transportation masks the sound of the blue whale, making it difficult for the blue whale to find a mate.
Related information:
The blue whale is not only the largest whale, but also bigger than the largest dinosaur that has ever lived on earth. It is the largest of all known animals since ancient times. Generally, its body length is 2400-3400 cm and its weight is 150000-200 1000kg, which means its weight is equivalent to more than 25 African animals. Fortunately, because of the buoyancy of the ocean, it doesn't need to support its weight as hard as land animals, and its huge body helps to keep a constant body temperature. The whole body surface of the blue whale is light blue or mouse gray, with thin stripes on the back, white spots on the chest and more than 20 folds, and the abdomen is covered with folds all the way to the navel with ochre spots. Female animals have cleavage on both sides of the reproductive opening with slender nipples inside. The head is small and flat, with two spray holes on the top of the head, a wide mouth, no teeth in the mouth and a wide upper jaw. It bulges upward in an arc shape, with 300-400 black whiskers on each side, 90-110cm long and 50-60cm wide. A large amount of earwax accumulates in the eardrum every year, and its age can be judged according to its thickness. It also has a white callus on its upper jaw, which used to be a place for long hair. Later, the hair degenerated, leaving a warty vegetation and becoming a breeding ground for parasites. Because this callus is different for each individual, just like wearing a hat with a different shape, different individuals can be distinguished accordingly. The dorsal fin is extremely short, the length is less than 0.5% of the body length of 65438+, and the flipper limb is not too long, about 4 meters, with four toes, no wavy notch at the back edge, and a wide and flat tail. The whole body is streamlined and looks like a razor, so it is also called "razor whale".
The blue whale's body is so huge, one tongue has 2000 kilograms, the skull has 3000 kilograms, the liver has 1000 kilograms, the heart has 500 kilograms, the blood circulation reaches 8000 kilograms, and the testicles of male animals also have 45 kilograms. If its intestines are straightened, it is 200-300 meters long, its blood vessels are thick enough to hold a child, its dirty wall is more than 60 centimeters thick and its penis is 3 meters long. Its power is also amazing, and its power is about 1500- 1700 horsepower, making it a well-deserved Hercules in the animal kingdom.
Blue whales are distributed in the oceans of the northern and southern hemispheres from the South Pole to the North Pole, especially near the South Pole, but they are rare in tropical waters. In China, it is distributed in the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea, including the waters in the south and southwest of Taiwan Province Province. Despite its huge size, it usually moves slowly and often stands still, but it can rise and fall freely in the water and its tail swings flexibly. It is not only the driving force for progress, but also acts as a rudder, with a speed of 28 kilometers per hour.
Most of the bays inhabited by blue whales are flooded with extremely rich organic matter in the river water on the landing land, which makes the water quality very fertile and promotes the massive reproduction of plankton. The dense plankton attracted a large group of krill, and their bodies shone blue like diamonds. Incredibly, the blue whale, a super-large animal, actually feeds on krill, a tiny animal. Its stomach is divided into four parts. The first stomach is formed by esophageal dilatation, so it eats a lot. It can swallow 2 million krill at a time and eat 4000-8000 kilograms a day. If the food in its stomach is less than 2000 kilograms, it will feel hungry. Krill is the most abundant animal in the world, widely distributed in the Arctic and Antarctic waters. It is because there is such a rich food and there is no limit to support weight that blue whales can develop so much. Every day, it spends most of its time swimming in dense plankton. The two rows of plate-like tentacles on its mouth are like a sieve, and its belly has many folds like accordion bellows, which can be expanded and contracted, so that it can swallow seawater and krill together, and then when its mouth is closed, seawater is discharged from the tentacles, filtering out shrimp and fish and swallowing them. Blue whales eat other shrimps, small fish, jellyfish, diatoms and various plankton. In contrast, blue whales living in northern waters are smaller than those living in waters near Antarctica, which is generally considered to be closely related to the types and quantity of their food.
Although blue whales live in the sea, like other mammals, they breathe with their lungs, which weigh more than 65,438+0,000 kilograms and can hold more than 65,438+0,000 liters of air. Such a large lung capacity greatly reduces the number of breaths, and only comes out to breathe once every 10- 15 minutes. When breathing, carbon dioxide and other waste gases in the lungs are discharged from the body through the nostrils, and then fresh oxygen is inhaled. Whenever its head comes out of the water to breathe, it will expel carbon dioxide and other waste gases from its body. When this powerful hot airflow rushes out of its nostrils, the jet height can reach about 10 meter, and it will also roll the nearby seawater out of the sea surface, and a spectacular water column will appear on the blue sea surface. From a distance, it looks like a fountain on the sea, and at the same time it makes a loud sound like a train whistle. People call it "jet tide". People can determine the position of the blue whale according to the sound it makes when breathing and the height and shape of the jet. Blue whales live in all oceans. It is extremely rare to see blue whales in China waters. There are records of blue whales in the Yellow Sea and the South China Sea, generally not exceeding 65,438+000 meters. However, some individuals can dive to a depth of 500 meters, and the diving time can last for 10 ~ 20 minutes, followed by 8 ~ 15 times of air jet, and the jet water column can be as high as 9. 1 meter.
Generally, whales don't raise their tails before diving, but blue whales always show their tails out of the water before diving, sometimes jumping out of the water very high, and then quickly diving into the water of 30-40 meters to find food. Usually, I also like to draw water with the tail fin, which is a versatile and versatile pastime. It may be playing a game, attracting the attention of its peers, or removing parasites from its skin.
Although some people have seen 50-60 blue whales move in groups, they rarely form groups, most of them are lonely, or only 2-3 of them move together. Amphibious blue whales are very harmonious with each other, swimming, diving, foraging and breathing together, just like mandarin ducks, inseparable, often leaving a wide waterway behind them. Three blue whales get together, mostly females and a calf, close together, followed by males, about 3 meters apart.
Blue whales breed in winter, and females are usually born every two years. Pregnancy 10- 12 months, each fetus only gives birth to 1 child. The newborn cub is 6-8 meters long and weighs about 6000 kilograms. In order to prevent suffocation and death, the mother beast should lift her cub out of the water to take the first breath of air, and then she can breathe by herself. A pair of nipples of female animals grow on both sides of reproductive foramen, and swim in the upper layer of seawater when breastfeeding, and the young closely follow the tail of female animals. Because the larvae have no movable lips, they can't hold their nipples to suck milk. Female animals directly spray milk into their mouths by virtue of muscle contraction, which is also a good adaptation to their main activities in water. Blue whale's milk is rich in nutrition, in which the fat content is 10 times that of milk, and the milk that young whales suck every day is above 1000 kg, so it develops rapidly. After 8 months, it can be increased to 65,438+05 m and its weight can be increased to 23,000 kg, so it can eat all kinds of plankton with its own mouth. By the age of two and a half to three, the body length can exceed 20 meters. The age of sexual maturity is about 8- 10 years old, and the life expectancy is generally over 50 years old, with the highest being 90- 100 years old.
Of all animals, the blue whale makes the loudest noise. Blue whales use low-frequency deafening sounds when communicating with their partners. This sound can sometimes exceed 180 decibels, even louder than the sound you hear when a jet plane takes off on the runway. Sensitive instruments have detected the sound of blue whales 80 kilometers away.
Taxonomically, blue whales belong to mammals, cetaceans, fin whales and fin whales. Over the years, countries all over the world have been racing to hunt in the ocean, and now blue whales over 25 meters in length are rare. In addition, the fishing of krill has greatly affected the foraging activities of blue whales. According to statistics, there were about 300,000 blue whales in the world half a century ago. To 1974, there are still 25,000, and now there are only about 2,000 left. Although the number of blue whales killed every year has been limited internationally since 1932, the prospect of this world's largest animal is still very dangerous! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
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