Cetacean

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cetacean : any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion — Merriam-Webster See also OneLook

Thesaurus

Roget’s II (Thesaurus.com), Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Visuwords

Encyclopedia

Cetacea is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel themselves through the water with powerful up-and-down movement of their tail which ends in a paddle-like fluke, using their flipper-shaped forelimbs to maneuver. — Wikipedia

Cetacean (Encyclopædia Britannica)

Cetacean Fact Sheets (American Cetacean Society)

Cetacea: Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (One Zoom)
Cetacea (Catalogue of Life)
Cetacea (WolframAlpha)

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Inspiration

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Wildlife Protection Solutions (YouTube Channel)
Wildlife Protection Solutions (Official Website)

Articles about Cetacean (Big Think)

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Innovation

Science

Cetology is the branch of marine mammal science that studies the approximately eighty species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises in the scientific order Cetacea. — Wikipedia

Mammalogy is the study of mammals – a class of vertebrates with characteristics such as homeothermic metabolism, fur, four-chambered hearts, and complex nervous systems. Mammalogy has also been known as “mastology,” “theriology,” and “therology.” The major branches of mammalogy include natural history, taxonomy and systematics, anatomy and physiology, ethology, ecology, and management. — Wikipedia

Mammalogy (Encyclopædia Britannica)

The Science of Mammalogy (The American Society of Mammalogists)

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Preservation

Conservation

Conservation (American Cetacean Society)

Library

DDC: 599.5 Cetacea (Library Thing)
Subject: Cetacea (Library Thing)

Subject: Cetacea (Open Library)

LCC: QL 737.C43 Cetacea (UPenn Online Books)
Subject: Cetacea (UPenn Online Books)

LCC: QL 737.C43 Cetacea (Library of Congress)
Subject: Cetacea (Library of Congress)

Subject: Cetacea (WorldCat)

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Participation

Cetacean Curriculum (American Cetacean Society)

Education

MERLOT: Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching
OER Commons: Open Educational Resources

Community

Occupation

Cetologists , or those who practice cetology, seek to understand and explain cetacean evolution, distribution, morphology, behavior, community dynamics, and other topics. — Wikipedia

How to Become a Marine Mammal Scientist (The Society for Marine Mammology)

Careers in Mammalogy (American Society of Mammalogists)

Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists (CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration)

More News …

Dolphins and Whales News -- ScienceDaily Whales and dolphins. Whale songs, beaching, endangered status -- current research news on all cetaceans.

Orcas filmed smashing giant sunfish into...
on July 23, 2026 at 1:55 pm
Researchers in the Gulf of California have documented a dramatic orca behavior never described before. In two separate encounters, one orca gripped a dead sunfish by the fin while another charged into it at high speed, blasting the carcass into thousands of pieces.
Scientists found mystery bacteria inside one of...
on July 21, 2026 at 5:10 am
Scientists studying decades of pygmy sperm whale strandings have uncovered three previously unknown types of Helicobacter bacteria hiding in the animals’ stomachs. All four infected whales showed serious digestive damage, including inflammation, ulcers, scarring, and parasite infestations, although the bacteria were not confirmed as the cause of death.
On the brink of extinction, the vaquita gets a...
on June 17, 2026 at 12:01 pm
Scientists have digitally preserved the world’s most endangered marine mammal by creating highly detailed 3D models of a vaquita skeleton using advanced imaging technology. The virtual archive provides an unprecedented look at the species and could help inspire conservation efforts before the tiny porpoise disappears forever.
Beluga whales keep switching mates and it may be...
on June 4, 2026 at 7:51 am
Hidden beneath Arctic waters, beluga whales have long kept their family lives a mystery. By analyzing DNA from more than 600 belugas in Alaska’s Bristol Bay over 13 years, researchers uncovered a surprisingly flexible mating system: both males and females regularly have offspring with different partners over their lifetimes.
Humpback whale breaks migration record with...
on May 20, 2026 at 3:15 am
Scientists have uncovered an astonishing new chapter in humpback whale migration: two whales were found to have traveled between breeding grounds in Australia and Brazil, crossing more than 14,000 kilometers of open ocean. One whale shattered records by covering at least 15,100 kilometers between sightings, marking the longest confirmed journey ever documented for an individual humpback whale.

Phys.org - latest science and technology news stories Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.

Genetic analysis identifies a distinct Risso's...
on August 3, 2026 at 3:40 pm
Risso's dolphins around the British Isles are part of a single population—genetically distinct from those elsewhere in the Atlantic, new research shows. Scientists studied the DNA of dolphins that stranded in England, Scotland and Wales from 1992 to 2016.
Scientists find antidepressant in the brains of...
on June 26, 2026 at 1:00 pm
Sertraline is one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants in the world. Global sertraline sales are expected to keep growing, projected to expand from an estimated US$1.94 billion in 2025 to approximately US$3.13 billion by 2032.
How sperm whale vocal dialects evolve as they...
on June 24, 2026 at 1:00 am
New research from the University of St. Andrews shows how sperm whale vocal dialects evolve as they adopt new calls while still remembering the old. An international team of researchers studying vocal dialects in the endangered population of sperm whales that live in the Mediterranean Sea has captured the cultural evolution of new dialects in process.
Levels of 'forever chemicals' in dolphins and...
on June 17, 2026 at 2:40 pm
Whales and dolphins inhabit some of the largest and seemingly most pristine environments on Earth, from tropical coastlines to Antarctic waters. Yet even they cannot escape PFAS—persistent "forever chemicals" that leak from our homes, factories and waterways into the sea.
Pixels preserve world's rarest porpoise to 3D...
on June 15, 2026 at 4:00 pm
The vaquita (Phocoena sinus), an elusive porpoise found only in the shallow waters of Mexico's northern Gulf of California, is one of the rarest and most endangered marine mammals on Earth. Measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) in length, it is the world's smallest cetacean—a group that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Known for the distinctive dark rings around its eyes and mouth, the vaquita remained unknown to science until the latter half of the 20th century. Today, it has become a […]