Copy of `Blue Whale Info - Marine mammal glossary`

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Blue Whale Info - Marine mammal glossary Category: Animals and Nature > Blue whale information Date & country: 03/06/2011, UK Words: 20

Albino
A whale (or any animal) lacking color in its skin, hair, and eyes.

Baleen
A strong plate of keratin, frayed on one edge, in the mouth of a baleen whale to strain water through.

Blowholes
Nostrils on the top of a whale's head used to blowout stale air from the whale's lungs.

Breaching
Behavior in which a whale leaps out of the water and lands with a splash.

Cetacea
The large order of animals that includes all whales and dolphins.

Echolocation
The sonar-like use of reflected sound waves to locate food and other objects.

Fluke
Half of a whale's tail. Two flukes together form the whale's flat, rigid tail. The tail moves up and down to propel the whale through water.

Flippers
Paddlelike forelimbs that help a whale steer through water.

Gestation
The amount of time it takes for an animal to develop inside its mother's womb.

Keratin
Continuously growing substance that forms human nails and hair and the baleen of whales.

Krill
Tiny, shrimp-like animals that are the main food of many whales and marine animals.

Lob-tailing
Behavior in which a whale raises its fluke out of the water and hits the surface, making a smacking noise.

Migrations
Moving regularly from one area to another.

Monogamous
Having only one mate.

Polar oceans
Cold oceans near the North and South poles.

Rorquals
A special group of baleen whales with pleated throats that expand while feeding.

Spyhopping
Behavior in which a whale raises its head above the surface of the water to look around.

Spout
Misty spray blown into the air when a whale comes to the surface to breathe.

Streamlined
A simplified design to reduce resistance while moving through water or air.

Weaned
When a calf is no longer nursing on its mother's milk.