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Whales, Dolphins & Other Wonderful Creatures

Cetaceans are divided into 3 suborders

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TOOTHED WHALES (ODONTOCETI)

WITH 5 FAMILIES

Dolphins (Delphinidae)
Beaked whales (Ziphidiae)
Sperm whales (Physeteridae)
Narwhal & Beluga (Monodontidae)
Porpoises (Phocoenidae)

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BALEEN WHALES (MYSTICETI)
WITH 4 FAMILIES

Right whales (Balaenidae)
Pygmy Right whales (Neobalaenidae)
Grey whales (Eschrichtiidae)
Rorquals (Balaenopteridae)

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EXTINCT ANCIENT WHALES (ARCHAEOCETI

The ancient whales were  primitive cetaceans that lived on earth around 50-20 Million years ago.They lived amphibiously in shallow coastal waters.

Whales & dolphins around Madeira (island)

Dolphins

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Bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus)

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Striped dolphin
(Stenella coeruleoalba)

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Rough-toothed dolphin
(Steno bredanensis)

Atlantic spotted dolphin

Atlantic spotted dolphin
(Stenella frontalis)

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Short-finned pilot whale
(Globicephala macrorhynchus)

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False killer whale
(Pseudorca crassidens)

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Short-beaked common dolphin
(Delphinus delphis)

Risso’s dolphin

Risso’s dolphin
(Grampus griseus)

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Orca
(Orcinus orca)

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Pygmy Killer Whale
(Feresa attenuata)

Rorquals

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Bryde’s whale
(Balaenoptera edeni)

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Blue whale
(Balaenoptera musculus)

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Sei whale
(Balaenoptera borealis)

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Humpback whale
(Megaptera novaeangliae)

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Fin whale
(Balaenoptera physalus)

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Common minke whale
(Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

Sperm Whales

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Sperm whale
(Physeter macrocephalus)

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Dwarf sperm whale
(Kogia simus)

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Pygmy sperm whale
(Kogia breviceps)

Beaked Whales

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Blainville’s beaked whale
(Mesoplodon densirostris)

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Cuvier’s beaked whale
(Ziphius cavirostris)

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Sowerby’s beaked whale
(Mesoplodon bidens)

Right Whales

North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis)

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. . . & more

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Black scabbardfish
(Aphanopus carbo)

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Atlantic Flying Fish
(Cheilopogon melanurus)

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Loggerhead sea turtle
(Caretta caretta)

Manta ray

Manta ray
(Manta birostris)

Giant Devil Ray

Giant Devil ray
(Mobula mobula)

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Hammerhead shark
(Sphyrna zygaena)

Goose barnacles

Goose barnacles
(Lepas anatifera)

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Portuguese man o’ war
(Physalia physalis)

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Mediterranean Monk Seal
(Monachus monachus)

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Bulwer’s petrel
(Bulweria bulwerii)

a bird that is standing in the dark

Manx shearwater
(Puffinus puffinus)

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Cory’s shearwater
(Calonectris diomedia borealis)

 Ilustrations by Katrin Waehner.