Key Terms Flashcards
What is a cetacean?
What are the two types of whales?
Mysticites and Odontocetes
What are the key factors of mysticities?
None toothed whales, have baleen. They are the more evolved version of the whales.
What are the key factors of odontocete?
Toothed whales are the primitive version of whales.
What is a homodont?
An odontocete with all the same type of teeth.
What is a heterodont?
An odontocete with different types of teeth.
Why is blubber important?
Acts as an energy store, to hold food and energy. Until they can eat again.
How are predators and prey related?
The predator makes the prey change to capture, then the prey changes to avoid being eaten.
What is fusiform?
Becoming pointy, more cylindrical. Becoming more adapted to life in water.
What is Baleen made up of?
Kreatin, hair like substance.
What are odontocete characteristics?
A more primitive form of whales. Teeth, asymmetrical skull. One nostril is used for breathing, other is used for sound projection.
What are mysticete characteristics?
More modern form of whales. The skull is symmetrical and has baleen, not teeth. The skull is 1/3 of the total body length.
Why are whales not size-limited?
Ocean allows for them to grow as big as possible.
What does a large mouth lead to?
A larger mouth means you can eat more, and become larger but more eating means more energy spent, needing to eat more.
