Breaching minke photo courtesy of Richard Slattery and CRESLI, Inc.
Smallest of the baleen whales in the Gulf of Mexico, adult minkes only reach up to 10.2 m in length and 10 metric tons in weight. As with all baleen whales, females are slightly larger than males of comparable age. Minke whales have a very narrow and pointed rostrum and a broad white band on the dorsal surface of the flippers. Coloration is dark gray to black above and white below. The baleen plates are yellowish-white, or cream, colored. The dorsal fin, located in the latter third of the back, is tall and falcate and the throat grooves end just beyond the flippers.
Distribution in Texas. Worldwide in distribution, minke whales are the most numerous of baleen whales. They are not listed as endangered. Known in Texas on the basis of a single stranding from Matagorda Peninsula on March 29, 1988.
Habits. As with most other baleen whales, minke whales tend to be highly migratory and move to cold temperate and polar waters in spring and then return to warmer waters in autumn. The movements of minke whales in the North Atlantic are heavily influenced by spawning concentrations of capelin, upon which they feed. Also, seasonal segregation by sex and age is pronounced in these whales. Mature males tend to migrate farther north in spring and summer than do females and immatures.
Minke whales feed on krill; fish, including sand lace, sand eel, salmon, capelin, mackerel, cod, coal fish, whiting, sprat, wolffish, dogfish, pollack, haddock, and herring; and squid. Capelin are the dominant food item of North Atlantic minkes.
Although baleen whales are generally thought incapable of echolocation, minke whales are known to produce a variety of sounds including narrow band pulses suitable for echolocation. Such sounds are described as "series of clicks" and may aid in locating food concentrations. Other sounds of these whales are described as "grunts, pings, zips, ratchets, and clicks."
In the North Atlantic, mating occurs from October to March. Females give birth to a single calf in early winter. The gestation period is about 10 months. Newborn minke whales are 2.4-2.7 m in length and the lactation period is 4-5 months. Age at sexual maturity is approximately 6 years for males and 7 years for females.
Remarks. The minke whale that stranded on the Texas coast was an immature female that was alive when first observed. This not only was the first of its kind known for Texas, but its physical features were particularly interesting in that the white bands usually present on the dorsal surface of the flippers were absent, and the baleen plates were partially black and numbered only approximately 240 per side. Typically, minke whales have about 300 baleen plates on each side of the mouth and they are cream-white in color. These features initially caused confusion in the identification of the whale; however, measurements of the tympanic bullae confirmed that, indeed, it was a minke whale.
 The Narwhal (Monodon monoceros) is an Arctic species of cetacean. It is a creature rarely found south of latitude 70°N. It is one of two species of white whale in the Monodontidae family (the other is the beluga whale). It is possibly also related to the Irrawaddy dolphin.
The English name narwhal is derived from the Dutch name narwal which in turn comes from the Danish narhval which is based ...
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 Order: Cetacea, Family: Balaenidae A large, blackish whale with the following features: no dorsal fin; head huge, about one-fourth of total length; baleen (whalebone) about 2 m long, 30 cm wide, and between 200 and 250 in number on each side of mouth; closure of mouth highly arched; no furrows on the throat; prominent, large, wartlike areas (called bonnets), the one near tip of snout largest. Total length of adults, 14-17 m; weight...
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 Order: Cetacea, Family: Balaenidae Right whales are primarily solitary animals, although sometimes they are found in pairs.
The growths, or callosities, on their head are distinctive enough to identify individuals.
They move slowly through the water with their mouth partially agape, straining plankton with their baleen plates.
Only about three hundred to six hundred of them still exist because of overhunting for centuries...
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 Order: Cetacea, Family: Monodontidae Arctic Ocean: An exclusively northern hemisphere species, the beluga range is primarily the Arctic ocean and some adjoining seas.
Belugas are a white-colored whale with a fusiform body shape and a large melon on the head. This melon is thought by some to focus echolocation tones, although this is in question. The melon can also be used as an indicator of health (poorly nourished belugas have low ...
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 Great sperm whales are the biggest of all toothed whales, the males usually much larger than the females.
They travel in pods of up to fifty, composed of one or two males and a harem.
Their common name is derived from a structure in their head known as the spermaceti organ, which is filled with a liquid waxy substance often referred to as sperm oil.
It is thought that this structure helps con...
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 Order: Cetacea, Family: Delphinidae The killer whale is actually the largest living species of dolphin, and not a true whale.
Males can measure 32 feet long, with a 6-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh 10 tons. Females can grow up to 28 feet in length, with a 3-foot tall dorsal fin, and weigh up to 6 tons.
The killer whale has a black body with a white belly, and a white patch on its chin and by its eye. It also has a gray or wh...
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