SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: TOOTHED VS. BALEEN WHALES MONDAY
Their classifications help to give you the answer, so what do you think the most obvious difference is in a toothed whale versus a baleen whale? Your clues are in the close-up photos, below!
PHOTO: TASLI SHAW PHOTO: CINDY HANSEN
Answer: The most obvious difference between a toothed whale and a baleen whale is the way that they feed and what’s inside their mouth. Toothed whales (including all dolphins and porpoises) have teeth, like we do, and they actively hunt fish, squid, and other sea creatures. Their teeth help them capture, bite, and tear their food into smaller pieces before swallowing. Baleen whales have several hundred plates that hang from their upper jaw, instead of teeth. These plates are made of keratin, the same substance as our hair and fingernails, and are used to filter food from the water or the sediment. Once the food has been trapped in the baleen plates, the whales will use their massive tongues to scrape the food off and swallow it. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: TOOTHED VS. BALEEN WHALES TUESDAY
The photos provided show specific prey types for resident orcas and for the gray whales that stop to feed in Saratoga Passage in the spring. Besides being two different species, what is another difference between these prey types? Who eats what and what makes you think that?
Answer: The photos show Chinook salmon and ghost shrimp. Other than being two different species, their main difference is size! A toothed whale, like a resident orca, uses their teeth to capture, bite, and tear Chinook salmon into smaller pieces to be shared with other orcas in their family. Ghost shrimp are small (an average adult is only 1 ½” long!) and can easily get stuck between baleen plates when gray whales are foraging through the sediment along the bottom, filtering out their food and then spitting the mud back out of their mouths. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: TOOTHED VS. BALEEN WHALES WEDNESDAY
When looking at most toothed whales and most baleen whales, there is another striking difference. Can you spot it among the species we find in the Salish Sea? We’ve listed a helpful hint to the right of each whale. What do you think this difference tells you?
26’-32’
32’-35’
35’-50’
52’-56’
Answer: Another main difference in most toothed whale versus baleen whale species is the size of each species! With only a few exceptions (like the sperm whale, who grows to roughly 50-66 feet in length), most toothed whales are significantly smaller in size than the baleen whales. Baleen whales' large size may be an adaptation relating to food storage or heat conservation in cold water, but the evolution of this characteristic is not well understood. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: TOOTHED VS. BALEEN WHALES THURSDAY
Both toothed whales and baleen whales are mammals and must come to the surface to breathe air, like humans do. They inhale and exhale air through their blowholes, located at their top of their heads. What is the difference between the toothed whale and baleen whale when examining their blowholes?
PHOTO: AMANDA COLBERT PHOTO: CINDY HANSEN
Answer: Toothed whales have one blowhole, while baleen whales have two blowholes! There is a theory that baleen whales have two blowholes because of their massive size and the amount of time they spend underwater. In order to dive and remain submerged for longer periods of time, they must be able to quickly and efficiently inhale and exhale before slipping beneath the surface. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE: TOOTHED VS. BALEEN WHALES FRIDAY
Pictured below is the back of an orca and the back of a gray whale at the surface. What difference can you spot in their general anatomy (body parts)? Does one whale species have a body part that the other is lacking? Why do you think this might this be?
PHOTO: AMANDA COLBERT PHOTO: CINDY HANSEN
Answer: Orcas have an obvious dorsal fin along their backs while gray whales have a dorsal ridge, instead. While individual toothed whale species have differing shapes, sizes, and locations to their dorsal fins, they all serve to help stabilize the whale and improve their hydrodynamics in the water (meaning they can slip through the water more quickly and effectively). Most baleen whales have small, hooked dorsal fins, or dorsal ridges, not needing to move as quickly through the water in search of prey. It is also thought a complete lack of dorsal fin in some species helps them retain heat and allows them to travel closely beneath ice sheets in search of food (the beluga whale, for instance).