Cetacea

E43401

Cetacea is an order of fully aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises, characterized by streamlined bodies, flippers, and adaptations for life in marine environments.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf clade
order
taxonomic group
blueWhaleStatus largest animal known to have ever existed
breathing lungs
characterizedBy adaptations for life in water
flippers
reduced or absent hind limbs
streamlined bodies
tail flukes
thick layer of blubber
class Mammalia
closestLivingRelatives hippopotamuses
communication vocalizations
conservationStatus many species threatened or endangered
containsSuborder Mysticeti
Odontoceti
diet carnivorous
evolutionaryOrigin descended from terrestrial artiodactyl mammals
feedsYoungWith milk
freshwaterPresence some river dolphins inhabit rivers
globalDistribution oceans worldwide
habitat marine environments
some freshwater environments
has blowholes
hasCommonName cetaceans
humanInteraction important for whale watching tourism
subject to whaling
includes dolphins
porpoises
whales
is fully aquatic mammals
kingdom Animalia
largestMember blue whale
limbModification forelimbs modified into flippers
hind limbs greatly reduced or absent externally
MysticetiCommonName baleen whales
OdontocetiCommonName toothed whales
phylum Chordata
reproduction viviparous
respiration obligate air-breathers
roleInEcosystem influence nutrient cycling via fecal plumes
top predators in marine food webs
sensoryAdaptation echolocation in toothed whales
sleepPattern unihemispheric slow-wave sleep in many species
superorder Laurasiatheria
thermoregulation insulating blubber layer

Referenced by (13)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Artiodactyla formsCladeWith Cetacea
Laurasiatheria hasMember Cetacea
Whippomorpha includes Cetacea
Laurasiatheria includesTaxon Cetacea
Mark Carwardine notableWork Cetacea
this entity surface form: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises
Eubalaena australis order Cetacea
subject surface form: Yangtze river dolphin
minke whale order Cetacea
southern right whale order Cetacea
Artiodactyla relatedTo Cetacea