Comparing Fuetal Narwhals And Beluga Whales

During whale evolution many skeletal changes occurred, the whale started out as an animal that mostly hunted and existed on land and slowly evolved. The skeletal system of a whale got much longer, its body developed new structures to help increase its survivability such as its flippers.

The evolutionary path of a whale is a fascinating process of a terrestrial mammal that evolves into a marine mammal. This evolutionary path started with one of the earliest ancestors called “Pakicetus”. A Pakicetus was discovered to be a land animal with four legs that had teeth as carnivores. It skull structure was long, but this organism didn’t look like any marine animal. The scientist then discovered that on the skull’s ear region it was surrounded by a bony wall. This feature on an organism only was distinct from one type of species, scientist discovered that this animal “Pakicetus” was an ancestor of a whale. By comparing the early whales Pakicetus to the next generation of ancestors Ambulocetus, the Ambulocetus whale looks more like

The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.

Logos was shown by using statistics of the whale’s life in captivity and characteristics of them as well. Some of these characteristics that were mentioned were they weigh up to 8,000 pounds, have 48

The dorsal fin is triangular, and has been know to grow in excess of 6 feet in length on males, but grow no more than 3 feet on females. (Martin) The pectoral fins of the orca can measure up to one sixth of it’s body length and is in the shape of a paddle. The orca usually have 40-50 conical teeth which measure over 2 inches in length, and has a perfect fit with the opposite set which makes it an excellent hunter. Although the teeth are robust, they do a lot of work through the years because older orcas have been known to have teeth worn down to the gum tissue (Haley.) The tongue of a killer whale has been known to weigh in excess of 2 tons (Martin.) They have been known to be fearless hunter, and a fast predator. Some say the ferocity of the killer whale exceeds that of the great white shark, which makes it one of the most feared in ocean life.

Recent evidence suggests that whales may not have always inhabited the oceans. Bones of an ancient ancestor of modern day whales, the Basilosaurus, were discovered in Pakistan that suggest whales evolved from a wolf-like creature. This genus of an early whale lived 34-40 million years ago in the late Eocene. These fossils show many different features in common with both modern day whales and modern day land mammals. Since the discovery of these bones, many other evidences show that whales are a likely descendant of the Basilosaurus through many different ways, such as embryologic comparison and DNA testing. Whales aren’t the only suspected descendants

The Narwhal is a whale and is also known as the unicorn of the sea. It is in the family of bottlenose dolphins, orcas, and Belugas (World Wildlife Fund). The scientific name for the Narwhal is Monodon monoceros and it is Greek meaning one-tooth, one-horn. It can grow up to 13-16 feet in length and weighs almost 2 tons (4,000 pounds). The region they are usually located is around the Arctic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia. They are known as unicorns of the sea because they have a tusk, one of their teeth, coming out of the front of the skull. According to the World Wildlife fund (2014), “Males most commonly have tusks, and some may even have two. The tusk, which can grow as long as 10 feet, is actually an enlarged tooth.” The

In marine mammal biology a large portion of the study is dedicated towards the study of adaptations to the marine environment. By comparing the anatomy between marine mammals and terrestrial mammals scientists can better understand evolutionary history of how these two categories of mammals diverged from one another. The purpose of this lab was to study the anatomy of different marine and terrestrial mammals and compare their similarities and differences in homologous traits and how adaptations were made specifically for marine mammals to survive the aquatic environment. To accomplish this bones of different species of animals were studied since these structures serve as the basis for comparison across species as well as an indicator of each animal’s individual morphology and physiology. A standard measurement protocol for bones of particular regions of the skeleton was established with emphasis on length versus width ratio as well as it’s overall size relative to its more complex features, i.e. humerus length versus hand length.

On average a killer whale in the ocean lives 60 - 70 years a maximum would be 80 - over 100 years. In captivity a female killer whale live to be about 29 years while a male killer whale lives to be about 17. The year gap between wild and captive orcas is so big because the orcas are too large to live in a 50 ft. deep tank. The most appalling fact to know is that the killer whales are the most prone to diseases in captivity, so they will die sooner than the life expectancy if a disease is caught such as broken teeth. Broken teeth occurs often in captivity. Killer whales are consistently getting treated for dental issues but the effects are unsuccessful. Fractured teeth are caused by biting on the steel gates, the killer whales only bite on the gates for one reason in particular that is wanting to be freed back to the ocean home they belong

“… building a tank the size of Rhode Island wouldn’t be large enough for a six-ton male killer whale such as Tilikum, an animal capable of swimming 100 miles a day,” states an anonymous whale expert. Whales have been in captivity since 1861 when P.T. Barnum displayed the first live whale that was captured in Canada. However, Barnum had no idea how to care for the mammal and it died after only a week in captivity. (Animal Legal and Historical Center, 2014) Being up close with killer whales could give us some clues about how they interact with each other, including physical behavior, their dialect, and how their pods work together as a family unit. However, what we are finding is that whales who belong in the wild are suffering in

Orcas are complex social creatures deserving freedom and respect, not captivity in theme parks under the guise of public education and entertainment. Aquarium staffs say captive whales are priceless educational tools. However, people can educate their children by bringing them to the wild instead of bringing the wild to them at the expense of the Orcas health and well-being. "The price of a family admission ticket is what continues to drive this cruel spectacle," according to Michael O' Sullivan, the Executive Director of The Humane Society of Canada (Whales in Captivity, 2010, Para. 3). Orcas suffer in many ways in

Like how unicorns are related to horses, narwhals are related to many kinds of whales. Some included are: bottlenose dolphins, belugas, orcas, and harbor porpoises. These narwhals can grow rapidly like most kinds of whales. They can grow from being just five feet in length as a newborn and 17 feet as an adult. Also, newborns weigh from about 175 to 220 pounds. And adults are usually around 2100 pounds. Age differentiation of narwhals has been easy not just because the weight and length, but because of their color. Younger narwhals are more gray while adults are lighter in color. This makes it easy to tell the difference between young and old narwhals. Even though it is easy to tell the difference between narwhals in itself, narwhals are usually not seen too often because they do not come too close to the shore. And they can dive down to 5,000 feet. Though narwhals are interesting, they are threatened by many factors, natural and unnatural

Captive orcinus orcas live in a relatively small space compared to their natural habitat. An orca would have to swim back and forth in it’s tank many times each day to equal the amount of miles it would swim in the ocean daily. “Captivity is, in essence, poor habitat for orcas, causing early death”(Captivity). Due to all the problems with killer whales being held in captivity, the whales experience a much shorter lifespan in captivity compared to their lifespan in the wild. Also all whales that have been held in captivity cannot be released back into their natural habitat because they may not be able to find their pod and they will not have the skills needed to survive.

jaw structure. The teeth are actually modified, enlarged placoid scales. The teeth aren’t anchored in the jaw; they are just embedded on the gums. Unfortunately, when the great white shark eats on its prey, it sometimes loses or breaks the tooth by the flesh. Luckily, sharks have developed a special feature that enables it to replace its missing tooth. They have developed rows of teeth, each tooth moving up to replace the missing one. A whole broken row of teeth can be replenished, just like a conveyor belt. Each tooth, though, has a different shape, changing according to its necessity. The great white has triangular, serrated-edged teeth anywhere from one to two inches long. With this feature, the shark is able to tear through the flesh for its meal. The jaw of the shark is made up of strong bone tissue. It must be very powerful because the shark is designed for feeding.

Whales kept at marine mammal parks, have been known to bite along the steel gates that separate the whales in order to help relieve their stress, however; this results in broken teeth and other oral problems.