Why are cetaceans mammals?

Whales are mammals because they give birth to live young, they have fur (although it is very sparse on their body), they have lungs and breath air and they provide milk for their young. Answer 3: Dolphins and other whales are all mammals called cetaceans.

Are cetaceans fish or mammals?

cetacean, (order Cetacea), any member of an entirely aquatic group of mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

Why are dolphins considered mammals and not fish?

Like every mammal, dolphins are warm blooded. Unlike fish, who breathe through gills, dolphins breathe air using lungs. Other characteristics of dolphins that make them mammals rather than fish are that they give birth to live young rather than laying eggs and they feed their young with milk.

What are some characteristics of the respiratory system of cetaceans that are adaptations to diving?

Deep Diving They fill their lungs and exchange 90\% of their air in each breath, have high blood volume, and their blood chemistry allows greater oxygen retention (the high red blood cell count and increased myoglobin make their muscle tissue and blood dark red).

Do cetaceans have special adaptations to deal with salt?

They rely on various adaptations for survival when only saltwater is available. Instead they get low-salt water from what they eat or manage to produce it on their own. Whales, for example, have the specialized kidneys but need far less water than land mammals.

What makes a cetacean a cetacean?

A cetacean is a member of the family of large aquatic mammals such as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. They have tails rather than hind limbs, and they have flippers instead of forearms. any of several whales having simple conical teeth and feeding on fish etc.

Are cetaceans more closely related to fish or mammals?

Whales are more closely related to humans than to fish She serves as the executive director of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation. Whales are a member of the cetacean family, and as such, despite being wholly water-resident, whales are mammals, not fish.

Why dolphins and whales are mammals?

Are dolphins & whales mammals? Yes, dolphins and whales are mammals. Like all mammals, they breath air, are warm blooded, give birth to live young, lactate and have hair. The ancestors of whales and dolphins lived on land millions of years ago and it is thought they were small dog-like mammals.

What is the difference between mammals and fish?

Fish – Fish live and breathe under water. They have scaly skin, fins to help them swim and they breathe through gills. Mammals – Mammals are animals that breathe air, grow hair or fur and feed on their mother’s milk as a baby. They have scales on their skin.

What are some physical adaptations that help cetaceans survive in water?

Both cetaceans and sirenians are well adapted to swimming through millions of years of evolution by natural selection. They possess smooth streamlined bodies with very little hair and flipper-shaped fore limbs (Fig. 6.18 B).

How do cetaceans obtain enough oxygen during a single inhalation to remain underwater for up to 90 minutes?

Without air-filled ears, a diving marine mammal does not suffer the effects of changing pressure. Sea lions and fur seals do have ears. During a dive their ears will fill with a bloody fluid, forcing any air out. Human beings store oxygen primarily in their lungs than any other place.

How do fish adapt to saltwater?

Salt water fish are perfectly adapted to their salty environment and need osmosis to live. The replacement fluid taken on to replace the lost water is desalinated by a process known as diffusion. Diffusion allows fish to live in a state of constant osmosis.

What are the characteristics of cetaceans?

cetacean, (order Cetacea), any member of an entirely aquatic group of mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The ancient Greeks recognized that cetaceans breathe air, give birth to live young, produce milk, and have hair —all features of mammals.

How did cetaceans evolve from terrestrial animals?

Cetaceans evolved from four-legged (quadruped) terrestrial animals, for which limbs played a primary role in movements, into virtually limbless aquatic creatures living in an environment where the back muscles are more important. Forelimbs are still present but are reduced to finlike flippers having shortened arm bones and no individual fingers.

What are whales classified as cetaceans?

Cetacean (order Cetacea), any member of an entirely aquatic group of mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The ancient Greeks recognized that cetaceans breathe air, give birth to live young, produce milk, and have hair—all features of mammals.

What are cetaceans that are born with teeth?

As the name suggest cetaceans that are born with teeth are part of the toothed whale suborder, and because they have teeth these marine mammals are considered the active hunters of the two suborders.