Whales (12 photos)

Cetaceans, or whales (lat. Cetacea) - order of mammals, fully adapted to life in water. Cetaceans with cloven-hoofed sometimes referred to vnesistematicheskoy group Cetartiodactyla. In common parlance are called whales all cetaceans, except dolphins and porpoises. Whales are the largest animals that have ever lived on Earth.



scientific name cetus and Russian whale comes from the Greek "sea monster».

Cetaceans are fusiform streamlined body, smooth skin without hair. A thick layer of fat protects against hypothermia. Forelimbs transformed into fins, tail atrophied. The tail end large horizontal fin.