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Marine Mammals

Marine Mammals. What is a Mammal?. Mammals have a 4 chambered heart. Mammals are warm-blooded. They have hair/fur. Have mammary glands. Give birth to live young. Pinnepeds. Ex: Seals, Walruses, Sea Lions. Marine mammals that have flippers and blubber Need to breed on land.

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Marine Mammals

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  1. Marine Mammals

  2. What is a Mammal? • Mammals have a 4 chambered heart. • Mammals are warm-blooded. • They have hair/fur. • Have mammary glands. • Give birth to live young.

  3. Pinnepeds • Ex: Seals, Walruses, Sea Lions. • Marine mammals that have flippers and blubber • Need to breed on land. • Live in cold water, and have a thick layer of blubber to keep them warm. • Mostly carnivores and feed on squid and fish. • Streamlined bodies and are excellent swimmers.

  4. Seals • Seals have rear flippers. • They move forward by pulling themselves along the ground. • Seals do not have ear flaps. • There are approximately 19 species of Seals.

  5. Sea Lions • Are also called Eared Seals, because they have external ear flaps. • They can move their rear flippers forward to walk. • They are graceful and agile swimmers.

  6. Walruses • Have large protruding tusks for digging up mollusks. • They have stiff whiskers for feeling around on the ocean floor. • They are the largest Pinneped, weighing up to 2700 lbs!

  7. Sea Otters • They are the smallest Marine Mammal, weighing 60-80 lbs. • They lack a layer of blubber, and make up for it by trapping air in their dense fur. • They eat mostly shell fish and spend most of the day maintaining their fur.

  8. Polar Bears • They are semi aquatic, so inhabit both the land and the sea. • They feed primarily on seals. • They have recently been put on the endangered species list because of loss of habitat due to global warming.

  9. Cetaceans • These animals spend their entire lives in the water. • They are streamlined, and look fish-like. • They breathe air through lungs and have nostrils on the tops of their heads called a blowhole (some single, some double). • This is the largest group of Marine Mammals, consisting of Whales , Dolphins, and Porpoises. • There are more than 90 species divided into two groups: toothed Whales (which includes Dolphins and Porpoises), and toothless Whales which have a Baleen.

  10. Baleen Whales • Instead of teeth, Baleen Whales have rows of flexible, fibrous plates, that hang from the upper jaws (called a Baleen). These are used to filter out plankton and tiny organisms from the water. • Baleen Whales are the largest animals to ever have lived on this planet. • There are 13 species of Baleen Whales; the Blue Whale being the largest at up to 110 ft. long, and up to 200 tons.

  11. Toothed Whales • Teeth are adapted for a diet of squid, fish, and other prey and are used to catch and hold prey, not to chew it. • There are 80 species of toothed Whales. • The largest of the toothed Whales is the Sperm Whale, made famous by the novel “Moby Dick”.

  12. Dolphins • Highly intelligent creatures, that can be easily trained, are playful, and have been known to “escort” ships. • It is common for dolphins to get caught in fishing nets meant for other species.

  13. Porpoises • Porpoises are divided in to six species. • Shorter than the average dolphin, more shy, and they don’t tend to live as long. • Have flattened, spade-shaped teeth.

  14. Dall's Porpoise Harbour Porpoise

  15. Narwhals • Related to bottlenose dolphins, belugas, harbor porpoises, and orcas. • Found in Arctic coastal waters and rivers. • In males, a prominent tooth grows right through the upper lip into a sword like, spiral tusk up to 2.7 meters long. • Some believe it is used to impress females or to battle rival suitors. • They travel in groups and feed on fish, shrimp, squid, and other aquatic fare. • Inuit people hunt the narwhal for their long tusks and their skin, an important source of vitamin C

  16. Belugas • Belugas are also called white whales. • Smallish (4 to 6.1 meters). • They have rounded foreheads and no dorsal fin. • Common in the Arctic Ocean's coastal waters • Feed on fish, crustaceans, and worms. • Related to the narwhal.

  17. Communication • One way Cetaceans communicate is through Echolocation (nature’s version of sonar). • They release tiny bubbles through their blowholes and make clicking sounds to communicate with each other, determine distances, and warn others about danger. • The Melon (fatty structure on the top of their heads) focuses and directs these sound waves.

  18. Breaching • When Whales leap in the air and loudly crash on the surface of the water. • This can be a warning signal, a way to get rid of external parasites, a fun activity, or a way of scanning the surface.

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