Toothed Whales

Odontoceti

Matt Wund cc-by-nc

Odontoceti (Toothed Whales) is a suborder of mammals. There are 194 species of Toothed Whales, in 123 genera and 27 families. It includes groups like Sperm Whales, Pontoporiidae, and Waipatiidae. They rely on lift powered swimming to move around.

URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.

show all records

EOL has data for 19 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
show all records
bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
show all records
auditory system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0016490
- Definition: the sensory system for the sense of hearing
show all records
otoliths
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q591800
- Definition: Inner-ear structure in vertebrates which detects acceleration and may detect acoustic signals
show all records
cellularity
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001992
- Definition: An organismal quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting cells. [ PATOC:GVG ]
show all records
multicellular
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001993
- Definition: A cellularity quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting of more than one cell. [ PATOC:GVG ]
show all records
geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
show all records
Italy
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/3175395
show all records
locomotion
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0040011
- Definition: Self-propelled movement of a cell or organism from one location to another.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: GOC:dgh]
show all records
lift powered swimming
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
- Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.
show all records
mineralized skeleton contains
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/mineralizedSkeletonContains
- Definition: Component found in mineralized skeletal tissue, (a specialized form of biogenic tissue in which the extracellular matrix is mineralized, and which functions in mechanical and structural support.)
show all records
apatite
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CHEBI_52254
- Definition: A phosphate mineral with the general formula Ca5(PO4)3X where X = OH, F or Cl
show all records
sensory system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0001032
- Definition: Anatomical system that overlaps the nervous system and is responsible for receiving and processing sensory information.
show all records
echolocation
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0050959
- Definition: the method used by some animals (e.g. bats, dolphins and some whales) to determine the location of something by measuring the time it takes for an echo to return from it. These animals emit sound waves and listen for the echo, calculating the distance to the object from the time lapse between sound emission and the echo returning.
show all records
visual system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0002104
- Definition: The sensory system subserving the sense of vision.
show all records
lens eyes
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lens_eyes
- Definition: Relative to pinhole eyes, lens eyes have greatly improved resolution and image brightness. The lens converges incoming rays of light, thereby reducing the angle over which each photoreceptor receives light, and forming an image focused on the retina. Most lens eyes have "accommodation"; they can focus an image either by physically moving the lens toward or away from the retina or by using eye muscles to adjust the shape of the lens.
- Attribution: https://www.britannica.com/science/photoreception/Single-chambered-eyes#ref278819
show all records
water depth
- URI: http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/verbatimDepth
- Definition: The depth of seawater at a location where this organism has been observed or collected.
show all records
2450 m

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Toothed whales. View this species on GBIF

Matt Wund cc-by-nc

Toothed Whales

Odontoceti

Toothed whales includes 28 children: