#cetartiodactyla

[biol525-mammalogy]

here's a better look at the cervid vacuity fenestra, just thought this was really cool :)

[markscherz]

You said earlier that all whales are evolved from a hooved ancestor. Is there any remaining hoovery in modern day whales? Which is to say, do today's whales have any remnants of hooves?

Well, baleen whales are a lot like giant hoovers, vacuuming up vast quantities of krill, but I know that that is not what you meant by 'hoovery'.

No, there are no remnants of hoofs in whales, unlike the fingernails of manatees. The hallmarks of their artiodactyl affinities lie among other features. Important to note that although the group is named after their digits, there are a host of other features that unite them.

[natural-reflection]

Sperm Whale or Cachalot Physeter macrocephalus

Castries, St. Lucia, 2014

[biol525-mammalogy]

laurasiatheria -> cetartiodactyla > cetacea -> odontoceti -> physeteridae -> genus kogia (dwarf or pygmy sperm whale)

recently is being considered its own family, separate from physeteridae

"skull strongly asymmetrical, left nasal larger than right; prominent occipital crest"

[biol525-mammalogy]

i actually don't think this is on the test but it's the whale family ziphiidae - beaked whales

also skull is shaped like a horseshoe crab :)

[biol525-mammalogy]

laurasiatheria -> cetartiodactyla > cetacea -> mysticeti -> balaenopteridae (rorquals) -> balaenoptera (minke whale)

honestly this one is the biggest so it should be pretty easy to ID

[biol525-mammalogy]

laurasiatheria -> cetartiodactyla > cetacea -> odontoceti -> phocoenidae -> phocoena phocoena (harbor porpoise)

there is a bump on the rostrum; the teeth are spade-shaped; the rostrum is shorter and broader than dolphin

[biol525-mammalogy]

laurasiatheria -> cetartiodactyla > cetacea -> odontoceti -> delphinidae -> tursiops truncatus (bottlenose dolphin)

skull is concave, no bump behind the nasals like in a porpoise skull