With its distinctive, sharply contrasting mix of gray, black, blue, white, and yellow coloration, the Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) is one of the ocean’s most attractive species of dolphin. And yet, it is not terribly popular with toy manufacturers which tend to focus on the far more popular but somewhat bland bottlenose dolphin.
Classification: Whales & Dolphins
Minke Whale (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.4 (5 votes)
The minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) belongs to the same genus as the world’s largest animal, the blue whale, but at 26-33’ (8-10.2 meters) is only a fraction of its giant cousin’s size. Indeed, the minke whale is the world’s smallest species of rorqual and the second smallest species of baleen whale (the pygmy right whale is the smallest).
Narwhal (Sealife by CollectA)
4.7 (3 votes)
Review and images by JimoAi; edited by bmathison1972
The narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is a species of toothed whale that lives in the Artic waters of Greenland, Canada, and Russia. Along with the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), they are the only living members of the Monodontidae family of whales and it’s not too hard to see why.
Blainville’s Beaked Whale (Sealife by CollectA)
4.8 (8 votes)
The beaked whales of the family Ziphiidae are collectively among the most elusive and poorly understood of all cetaceans, or mammals in general. Roughly 24 species have been described so far with the Ramari’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon eueu) having been described in 2021. Indeed, new beaked whale species are regularly described, or their taxonomy revised, as our understanding of them increases.
Blue Whale (Scientific Art Sculptures by PNSO)
4.5 (15 votes)
74 years ago from this very day, Lt. Col. Waldon C. Winston witnessed and documented what he noted as the largest whale to have ever been weighed. Winston was aboard the Kyo Maru No.6. during the 1947/48 Antarctic whaling season as an observer to ensure the Japanese whalers complied with the International Whaling Regulations and directives issued by General Douglass MacArthur.
Bottlenose Dolphin, adult and calf (Monterey Bay Aquarium by Safari Ltd)
4 (4 votes)
A creature that needs no introduction, the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). The common bottlenose dolphin is a very widely-distributed species, covering the temperate and tropical waters of the world. With the species-level taxonomy still in revision, the Indo-pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus) was split from T.truncatus in 2000 and 3 subspecies are currently recognized: the common subspecies (T.t.truncatus) Lahille’s (T.t.gephyreus), Black sea bottlenose dolphins (T.t.ponticus).
Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
4.8 (5 votes)
While the more popular cetacean species exist in most parts of the world, there exist many that are confined to their own little corner of the ocean, such as the North Pacific white-sided dolphin (Sagmatias obliquidens). These dolphins exist across the entire span of the North Pacific.
Commerson’s Dolphin (SeaWorld)
4.3 (3 votes)
Review and images by EpicRaptorMan; edited by bmathison1972
This small dolphin is known from an assortment of common names some of which include: the panda dolphin, skunk dolphin, jacobita, and Commerson’s dolphin, just to name a few. This cetacean was first described in 1767 by the French naturalist Dr. Philibert Commerson while exploring the waters around the southern tip of South America and was scientifically named Cephalorhynchus commersonii in 1804.
Blue Whale (Mega Sofubi Advance by Kaiyodo)
4.3 (13 votes)
There are many iterations of a fabled, island-sized sea monster across various cultures, which were in no doubt inspired by early accounts of animals such as the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Blue whales exist in all major oceans, but precise distributions are patchy and their migratory movements are poorly understood.
Sei Whale (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
5 (3 votes)
Off the Norwegian coasts, a species of whale is known to appear alongside schools of pollock, thus the sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) is aptly named the ”pollock whale” in their language. Though recent genetic studies warrant the revision of the Balaenoptera genus, data shows that the sei whale is the blue whale’s (B.
Sperm Whale, 2019 (Wild Safari Sealife by Safari Ltd.)
4.7 (6 votes)
Review and images by Cachalot; edited by bmathison1972
Recently I have gotten interested in sea animals, whales in particular. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is my favorite; it is an animal of extremes. It has the largest brain on earth, 17 to 20 pounds. There are music ditties about this creature being brainy.
Humpback Whale, adult and calf (Monterey Bay Aquarium Collection by Safari Ltd.)
5 (7 votes)
The sounds of whales often fill the ambiance of the ocean, and none are more popular than the songs of the humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). This species traditionally occupies the sole Balaenopterid genus outside of Balaenoptera, but molecular studies position the humpback as the closest relative of the fin whale (B.phylsaus), rendering Balaenoptera paraphyletic.