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Encyclopediawhalewhale, aquatic mammal of the order Cetacea, found in all oceans of the world. Members of this order vary greatly in size and include the largest animals that have ever lived. Cetaceans never leave the water, even to give birth. Although their ancestry has been much debated, DNA studies and skeletal evidence from extinct early whales indicate that whales evolved from the ancestors of artiodactyls, a group that includes hippopotamuses, cows, pigs, and deer. Sections in this article: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on whale from Infoplease:
- killer whale - killer whale killer whale or grampus,a large, rapacious marine mammal, Orcinus orca, of the dolphin ...
- right whale - right whale right whale, name for whales of the family Balaenidae. They were so named by whalers, ...
- blue whale - blue whale blue whale, a baleen whale, Balaenoptera musculus. Also called the sulphur-bottom whale ...
- whalebone whale: meaning and definitions - whalebone whale: Definition and Pronunciation
- beluga - beluga beluga or white whale,small, toothed northern whale, Delphinapterus leucas. The beluga may ...
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