Қытықша қаңқалы киттер тұқымдасы

Family of mammals

Balaenidae (/b//ə/'/l//ɛ//n//ᵻ//d//eɪ//, // //d//iː/) is a family of whales of the parvorder Mysticeti (baleen whales) that contains mostly fossil taxa and two living genera: the right whale (genus Eubalaena), and the closely related bowhead whale (genus Balaena).

Baleen whales belong to a monophyletic lineage of Mysticeti. Mysticeti are large filter feeding cetaceans that also include some of the largest animals on earth as well as some of the most critically endangered. Based on morphology and molecular data, four extant family level clades are recognized within Mysticeti: Balaenidae (bowhead and right whales), Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whales), Eschirichtiidae (gray whales), and Balaenopteridae (rorquals). – a feeding method that contrasts with those of the rorquals and the gray whale. Their diet consists of small crustaceans, primarily copepods, although some species also eat a significant amount of krill. Similarities in terms of physical appearances of jawlines and usages between balaenidae and flamingo have been pointed as a result of possible convergent evolution. Balaenids are also robustly built by comparison with the rorquals, and lack the grooves along the throat that are distinctive of those animals. They have exceptionally large heads in comparison with their bodies, reaching 40% of the total length in the case of the bowhead whale. They have short, broad, flippers, and lack a dorsal fin. All species are at least somewhat migratory, moving into warmer waters during the winter, during which they both mate and give birth. Gestation lasts 10–11 months, results in the birth of a single young, and typically occurs once every three years. After death, the large blubber deposits caused right whales to float to the surface, which facilitated an easier oil harvest. With a population estimated at between 300 350 individuals, the North Atlantic right whale is the most critically endangered great whale. The Northern Pacific right whale is also endangered with only about 500 individuals extant. The Southern right whale (~7500 individuals in 1997) and the Bowhead whale (20,000 to 40,000) have made stronger recoveries since whale hunting was significantly curtailed by international agreement.