Parvorder

Mysticeti (Baleen whales)

Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira. Photo: (c) Dan Harville, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), known earlier as whalebone whales, form a parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). They are a widely distributed and diverse parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals. Mysticeti comprise the families Balaenidae (right whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale). There are currently 15 species of baleen whale. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence supports them as relatives…

— Wikipedia

Subtaxa

Where in Humboldt



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