CETACEAN


Meaning of CETACEAN in English

n.

Any of the exclusively aquatic placental mammals constituting the order Cetacea.

They are found in oceans worldwide and in some freshwater environments. Modern cetaceans are grouped in two suborders: about 70 species of toothed whales (Odontoceti) and 13 species of toothless baleen whales (Mysticeti). They have a tapered body, no external hind limbs, and a tail ending in a horizontal blade of two lobes, or flukes. Cetaceans must come to the water's surface to breathe through blowholes located on top of their head. See also whale .

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.