Research sheds light on the origin of the baleen whale(monash.edu)
monash.edu
Research sheds light on the origin of the baleen whale
https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/world-first-research-sheds-light-on-the-origin-of-the-baleen-whale#.WD4cJV1pttU.twitter
5 comments
I'm disappointed they went with "Alfred" and didn't try the more descriptive Baleeny McBaleenyface.
Alfred wasn't a Baleen whale though, he was a normal toothed whale that sucked in his food.
You are right. I saw "branch of baleen family" and was blinded by my own joke w/o reading the whole paragraph. I wonder if the suck-feeding method contributed to the evolution of the blowhole? Perhaps it originated as a release valve so they could breathe out without blowing their freshly-sucked-in meal right back out their mouth?
All Cetaceans have blowholes. I think it's one of the original evolutionary traits.
"The trachea only connects to the blowhole, and the animal cannot breathe through its mouth." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowhole_(anatomy)
"The trachea only connects to the blowhole, and the animal cannot breathe through its mouth." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowhole_(anatomy)
I can see where natural selection would lead to separation of the blowhole from the mouth. I'll bet proto-whales without that adaptation had frequent clogging of the blowhole with food from within. This would not only block the airway, but blowing the food out (if they could manage it before blacking out and sinking) would deprive them of nourishment.