1. The name Burmeister’s porpoise can be traced back to Hermann Burmeister, who first described the porpoise in 1865. It’s great that he identified the porpoise, but it’s a bit of a bummer name for the porpoise, sounds like a beer name. But the scientific name makes up for it: Phocoena spinipinnis. 2. As with… [read more]
Archives for March 2010
9 noteworthy Bryde’s whale tidbits
1. The name Bryde’s is actually pronounced in a way that sounds like “brutus,” so if you hear someone say the brutus whale, they are talking about the Bryde’s whale. 2. Bryde’s whales have the distinction of being the “least known of the large baleen whales,” according to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. There is… [read more]
5 fun breathing facts about marine mammals
1. Marine mammals use 75% of their total lung capacity when breathing, while humans only use 10 to 15%. 2. To increase the amount of oxygen in their lungs compared to carbon dioxide, marine mammals intentionally hyperventilate. 3. Sea otters have lungs that are three times the average size for animals with similar body mass.… [read more]
Brain evolution in marine mammals
Well, as you can tell from the picture, whales have evolved quite a bit since the days of the Remingtonocetus. And so have their brains. But the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals discusses brain evolution in terms of the encephalization quotient. Apparently, this is a normal way to discuss brain evolution however arcane it may sound.… [read more]
Big brains in marine mammals
Brains, beautiful brains. The Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals has quite a bit to say about marine mammal brains, including a few fun facts. Did you know that a killer whale brain weighs five times as much as a human brain? And that baleen whales have the largest brains in the animal kingdom? Pretty interesting. And… [read more]