Translations:Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Nature/Cetaceans/9/en
Baleen Whales
The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, are one of two suborders of the Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). Baleen whales, rather than having teeth, have baleen plates which hang from the upper jaw and are used for filtering food from water. This distinguishes them from the toothed whales. Baleen is a type of hair but stiff like a soft fingernail. It grows from the roof of the mouth in two rows and is used to filter out food from water.
The whale is able to take in a huge mouthful of water and then squeeze its mouth shut and squeeze out the water while straining out the food. Baleen whales feed on tiny creatures called krill and need lots of these to fuel their bodies. Most of the big whales are baleen whales, e.g. Blue whale, humpback whale and fin whale. Krill is one of their major foods, which they strain through their baleen.
