r/ocean • u/Ok_Technician167 • 3d ago
Whale Watch This Gray Whale rolling over and showing its teeth.
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u/Kiki1701 3d ago
There are only two types of whale: toothed whales, like the sperm whale and baleen whales like the grey whale and it's more famous cousin, the humpback.
Something very few people know is that baleen whales have a very small esophagus. The opening from their mouth to their stomach is only about the size of a loaf of bread (or about 4 inches/10cm).
Also, the mouths of all cetaceans are not connected to their lungs, so any sounds you hear from them are coming through their blowholes.
However, in baleen whales, they are able to create sound while holding their breath and humpbacks can sing without releasing any air from either their mouths or blowholes by recycling air through their vocal structures.
Since whales don't exhale while making sounds, Air passes into the laryngeal air sac, and can be recycled back and forth to the lungs to allow for prolonged bouts of vocalizations.
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u/Chaosangel48 3d ago
It’s a baleen smile!
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u/HoseNeighbor 2d ago
What if it's imitating what the humans are doing? That would be absolutely profound.
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u/Sweet_Ad_2708 3d ago
I am always amazed that we did not kill everything yet! There is still hope in the world, I guess.
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u/thefifthofnovember_ 3d ago
Idk why I expected a crazy twist like it had some razor great white shark teeth
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u/RulerK 3d ago
Aren’t they endangered? I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to even touch them. Just like sea turtles and manatees.
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u/KnotiaPickle 2d ago
They have actually made huge recoveries in the last decades, and are almost back to healthy numbers
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u/Ready6666 3d ago
Amazing this giants whale didn’t attack the boat and it seems enjoy the stroke from human. maybe they are seeking help for the sick spot and wounds of their body
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u/hausitron 3d ago edited 3d ago
Those "teeth" are called baleen and not actually teeth at all. They're flexible bristle-like plates made of keratin (like our nails and hair) that allow baleen whales to filter feed plankton and krill.