Feeding
The toothed whales such as the sperm whale, beluga, dolphins and porpoises, have teeth they use for catching fish, squid or other marine life. They do not chew, but swallow prey whole. When they catch large prey, such as when the killer whale (Orcinus orca) catches a seal, they bite off and swallow one chunk at a time.
Mysticeti instead have baleen plates made of keratin (the same substance as human fingernails) which hang from the upper jaw. These plates filter small animals (such as krill and fish) from the seawater. Cetaceans included in this group include the blue, humpback, bowhead and minke whales.
Not all Mysticeti feed on plankton; the larger species eat small shoaling fish, such as herring and sardines, called micronecton. The gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), is a benthic feeder, primarily eating sea-floor crustaceans.
Read more about this topic: Cetacea
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