The Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. It is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The Blue whale was once abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans until the end of the 19th century. It was hunted...
The Killer whale (Orcinus orca) is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. It is the largest member of this family. The sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors of Killer whales have been described as manifestations of...
The narwhal, also known as a narwhale (Monodon monoceros), is a medium-sized toothed whale with a large "tusk" from a protruding canine tooth. It is one of two living species of whale in the family Monodontidae, along with the Beluga whale. Narwhals...
The Sperm whale or cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus Physeter and one of three extant species in the sperm whale family, along with the...
The Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) is a cetacean adapted to life in the Arctic, with anatomical and physiological characteristics that differentiate it from other cetaceans. Amongst these are its all-white color and the absence of a dorsal...
The Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual; a member of the family Balaenopteridae. The Humpback whale is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale...
Vaquitas (Phocoena sinus) are record-holders among all cetaceans. Thus, these animals are the smallest cetaceans, meanwhile being the smallest porpoises; they have the smallest range; and finally, vaquitas are the most critically endangered cetacean...
The False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus Pseudorca. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly frequents tropical regions. The name "false killer whale" comes...
The Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) is a species of toothed whale. It is the largest species of river dolphin, and it has one of the widest-ranging diets among toothed whales. The Amazon river dolphin has been treated with suspicion by local...
The Bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus) is a species of baleen whale and the only living representative of the genus Balaena. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters and are named after their characteristic massive...
The baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin. It is thought to be the first dolphin species driven to extinction due to the impact of humans. This dolphin is listed as “critically endangered: possibly extinct”...
The Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cetacean on Earth after the Blue whale. American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound...
The Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. The common name of this whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil...
The Ganges River dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a species of toothed whale found in South Asia. It is also known by the name susu (popular name) or "Sisu" (Assamese language) and shushuk (Bengali). The Ganges river dolphin has been recognized by...
The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in scattered subpopulations near sea coasts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the Australian snubfin dolphin and was not...
The Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales in the family Ziphiidae. It is smaller than most baleen whales yet large among beaked whales. Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic and occurs in waters...
The North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) is a rare baleen whale, one of three right whale species belonging to the genus Eubalaena, all of which were formerly classified as a single species. Because of their docile nature, their slow...
The Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the Blue whale and the Fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas and prefers deep offshore waters. The whale's name comes from the Norwegian word...
The Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales. These whales are known to be rather active on the water surface and curious towards human vessels. They like to interact with humans...
The Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is one of eight extant species of porpoise. It is one of the smallest species of cetacean. As its name implies, it stays close to coastal areas or river estuaries, and as such, is the most familiar porpoise...
The Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin species due to the wide exposure it receives in captivity in marine parks and...
The spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris ) is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a member...
The North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica ) is a very large, thickset baleen whale species that is extremely rare and endangered. The Northeast Pacific population, which summers in the southeastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, may have no...
Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) is one of the most mysterious and little known-species of dolphin with a rather unusual appearance. It is named after Antoine Risso, whose study of the animal formed the basis of the recognized description by...
The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) is an aquatic marine mammal found throughout most of the Indian Ocean, as well as the tropical and subtropical Pacific from Indonesia north to the Taiwan Strait. Finless porpoises are the...
Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are large oceanic dolphins. Pilot whales get their name from the original belief that there was a "pilot" or lead individual in their groups. They have also earned the nickname of "pothead whale" in some...
The Melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) belongs to the oceanic dolphin family. It is closely related to the Pygmy killer whale and Pilot whale. Collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. Melon-headed whales...
The pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps ) is one of two extant species in the family Kogiidae in the sperm whale superfamily. They are not often sighted at sea, and most of what is known about them comes from the examination of stranded specimens.
A small whale (smaller than some dolphins), the Dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) is a rare and insufficiently explored species. Most of the available information about this animal is taken from occasional strandings. The Dwarf sperm whale is quite...
Heaviside's dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) are small stocky cetaceans native to the southwest coast of Africa. They spend time in small groups and usually remain nearshore in the mornings. They are very energetic and can dive up to 147 meters...
The tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) is a freshwater dolphin found in the rivers of the Amazon basin. Despite being found in geographic locations similar to those of 'true' river dolphins such as the boto, the tucuxi is not closely related to them...
The Common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is a small member of the suborder of baleen whales. It is the smallest species of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. American whalemen in the 19th century simply thought...
Hector's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori ) is one of four dolphin species belonging to the genus Cephalorhynchus. Hector's dolphin is the only cetacean endemic to New Zealand, and comprises two subspecies: C. h. hectori, the more numerous...
The pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata ) is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin. It derives its common name from sharing some physical characteristics with the orca also known as the killer whale. It is the smallest cetacean species...
Omura's whale or the dwarf fin whale (Balaenoptera omurai ) is a species of rorqual about which very little is known. Before its formal description, it was referred to as a small, dwarf or pygmy form of Bryde's whale by various sources. The common...
Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli ) is a species of porpoise endemic to the North Pacific. It is the largest of porpoises and the only member of the genus Phocoenoides. The species is named after American naturalist W. H. Dall.
The Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ), also known as the hookfin porpoise, is a very active dolphin found in the cool or temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean.
The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis ) is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, with that...
Commerson's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus commersonii ), also referred to by the common names jacobita, skunk dolphin, piebald dolphin, panda dolphin, or tonina overa (in South America), is a small oceanic dolphin of the genus Cephalorhynchus....
The pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata ) may be a member of the cetotheres, a family of baleen whales, which until 2012 were thought to be extinct; C. marginata has otherwise been considered the sole member of the family Neobalaenidae. First...
The short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus ) is one of the two species of cetaceans in the genus Globicephala, which it shares with the long-finned pilot whale (G. melas ). It is part of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae).It has...
The pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda ) is a subspecies of the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus ) found in the Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean.Reaching lengths of up to 24 metres (79 ft) it is smaller than the other...