cetacean

Everyday

(science) Any member of the group of sea mammals that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons, cetaceans are mammals, not fish: they breathe air through a blowhole, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk. Some (baleen whales) filter tiny food through baleen plates; others (toothed whales, dolphins) have teeth. In the Just So Story «How the Whale Got His Throat», Kipling jokes that the Whale's throat was blocked by a grating made from a raft, so he can only eat very small fish — real baleen whales do eat tiny krill, but not because of a grating.

Examples

• Whales, dolphins and porpoises are all cetaceans. tree →
• Cetaceans breathe air through a blowhole. tree →
• The blue whale is the biggest cetacean and the biggest animal ever. tree →
• A cetacean is a mammal, not a fish. tree →
• We saw cetaceans from the boat off the coast of New Zealand. tree →
• In the story, the Whale got a grating stuck in his throat. tree →

Note

Sounds like «sih-TAY-shun». Common myth: whales are fish — they are not. The word comes from Latin cetus, whale.