- Beak
Snout; forward projecting jaws of a cetacean.
- Blow
Spout, cloud of moisture-laden air exhaled by cetaceans; may be
used to describe the act of breathing.
- Blowhole
Nostril(s) on the top of the head.
- Bow-Riding
Riding on the pressure wave in front of a ship or large whale.
- Breaching
Act of leaping completely out of the water (or almost completely)
and landing back with a splash.
- Dorsal
Toward the upper side.
- Dorsal
Fin
Raised structure on the back of most cetaceans.
- Dorsal
Ridge
Hump or ridge that replaces a dorsal fin in some cetaceans.
- Echolocation
System used by many cetaceans to orientate, navigate, and find
food by sending out sounds and interpreting the returning echoes.
- Falcate
Sickle-shaped and curved backward.
- Flipper
Pectoral fin; paddle-shaped front limb of a cetacean.
- Flukes
Horizontally flattened tail of cetaceans.
- Keel
Distinctive bulge on the tail stock near the flukes; it can be
on the upperside, underside, or both.
- Melon
Bulbous forehead of many toothed whales, dolphins, and porpoises;
believed to be used to focus sounds for echolocation.
- Migration
Regular journeys of animals between one region and another, usually
associated with seasonal and climate changes or breeding and feeding
cycles.
- Posterior
Situated at or near the tail.
- Range
Natural distribution of a species, including migratory pathways
and seasonal haunts.
- Rooster
Tail
Spray of water formed when certain small cetaceans surface at
high speed; it is caused by a cone of water coming off the animal's
head.
- Rostrum
Upper jaw of the skull; may be used to refer to the beak or snout.
- Stranding
Act of a cetacean coming onto land, either alive or dead; mass
stranding involves a group of 3 or more animals.
- Tail
Stock
Peduncle, caudal peduncle, region from just behind the dorsal
fin to the flukes.
- Ventral
Relating to the underside.
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