Cetaceos - Blog Posts

Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin. (Lagenorhynchus acutus) Least Concern. As always, I have enjoyed working with this family. Working with cetaceans is always enjoyable. The most amusing aspect is getting to know them. I must confess that my knowledge about cetaceans was quite limited, extending only to the commonly known dolphins and whales. However, compiling this information has opened my eyes, allowing me to marvel at the hidden wonders of the sea and emphasizing the importance of protecting it. _____________________ Thank you all for your support. If you want to know more about mammals consider joining my club. I post more animals there than the ones I post here, showing the full-body illustration of each animal, explaining the infographic and the illustration process, and how the family is being completed, apart from many other nice stuff. Here is the link: CLUB Another way of supporting me is spreading the word. A like, a follow, or a reblog are very much appreciated. See you next week and thank you.

I usually don't post on Sundays but this week was crazy. I moved from my home country, Colombia to live in Canada for good last Thursday. I'm a little tired because of the move and I didn't have much time to think of anything else but packing. But here we are trying to post one animal every week. Today, one that was completely unknown to me and apparently to science too because not much is known about it. The Chilean Dolphin.

Chilean Dolphin This dolphin was previously named the black dolphin. It was named this way because of some dead specimens and some saw at the distance. When they studied live animals and got closer to them, they realized the color wasn't that dark so they changed the name to Chilean dolphin. This dolphin doesn't swim close to the boats. This is because they were hunted with harpoons up to the 80s. It is believed that the animal developed a fear of boats. (We can see why. What is strange is why the other species of dolphins haven't). By those times, hunts of this animal rise to 1500 per year. Today its status is Nearly Threatened. Store Instagram _________________________________________________

Credits: Chilean Dolphin Chilean Dolphin _________________________________________________ Thank you to all of you who liked and promoted my last post. It really helped me a lot. Again, if you like the content please like and subscribe. Reblog are also like gold for me. Hopefully, I will be able to post next week. Cheers!

This is a family I wanted to do for a long time but for many reasons I just never started. It is not easy to find a good image for reference of marine mammals because the photographs underwater aren't that sharp and also because the majority of the images never show the full body of the animal. Nonetheless, I have to use more than one picture to complete the whole animal, which is fun. Let's begin with a very beloved family that I'm sure we will be surprised by how little we might know about them.

Commerson's Dolphin

Is one of the smallest members of the Delphinidae family with no more than 1.5m lengths. It has a very striking and particular color pattern. The genus has two subspecies. The one in the illustration, C. c .commersonii, can be found on the coasts of South Argentina. The C. c .kerguelensis, is found in the Indian Ocean.

it has been displayed in a few aquariums and this subspecies used to be killed and used as bait to catch crabs in Chile and Argentina. This method however is nowadays been curtailed.

___________________________________________________ Credits: Commerson's Dolphin Ballenas, delfines y marsopas. Guía visual de todos los cetáceos del mundo. Mark Carwardine

Photo Reference: Doug Perrine

____________________________________________________

Thank you guys for your support. If you like the content please follow my blog. A like, reblog, or comment is very much appreciated too. Have a good one and get sober.

Gray Whale

The last member of the balaenopteridae family: The Gray Whale. (you might wonder why the sperm whale is not included but that one belongs to another family closer to dolphins as orcas do. I didn't know that)

This one habitat is way more reduced but its number is fine. Also called the Evil whale because it was a fierce fighter when hunted. (I wonder if there would be any animal who wouldn't fight for its life)

It is a very distinctive whale and the only extant of its family with its last relatives seen in the Neogene era.

Maybe the most notable marks are the withe spots all around its body product of scars left by parasites that fall off when is on cold grounds.

Three specimens were kept captive through history. The first one called Gigi in 1965 died two months after. However, in 1972 another catch called Gigi II, was held for a year after grew too much and had to be released. A third one was kept captive in SeaWorld San Diego for 14 months and also was released because of its size.

______

Whales are ugly, or not. Probably both. On one side they look like a deformed giant body with a massive mouth that when opens make the animal looks even weirder. But then a beautiful tale swipes with force and breaks the ocean's surface and is accompanied by a pair of powerful fins that make that weird body moves gracefully as if it's dancing. It's a perfect combination of grotesque and beauty that combined with its size made us fall in love with it. ______

Thank you guys for your support. Likes, reblog, follows will be all loved, Haters if any will be loved too. Don't forget to follow my Instagram account. Nice posters to purchase in my store. Links below. Bye!

Instagram Store

Sei Whale

Is the third-largest rorqual before the Fin whale and the Blue whale. Heavily hunted in the XIX and XX century its numbers dropped from 250.000 to 80.000 which in other words mean less than a third of the pre whaling population. Today luckily is protected.

Mass deaths events have been recorded numerous times and the reason why isn't clear but it appears to be endemic poisoning called red tide. It is a phenomenon of decoloration of the sea surface that occurs by an overpopulation of certain microorganisms, apparently caused by the unprecedented warming of the Pacific Ocean. The biggest mass death event documented happened in Chile in June 2015 where 337 death Sei Whales were counted.

__________

Thank you guys for your support. If you like the content, please like, subscribe, or share (or all of them) will mean a lot to me. Also, if you see something wrong with the content please let me know. I'm not an expert in whales, in fact, there are many things I didn't know before doing this investigation.

More extra content here. Store click here.

The Bryde's Whale has been a kind of puzzle for scientists because three species use to fall into its category. This is called complex in taxonomy. In other words, three (or maybe four) species of whales were thought to be subspecies, (or just the same species) as the Bryde's whale.

I wonder why not just name all four species the same if they are so closely similar? The devil is in the details. Those little differences that make one species become different from others can be the starting point for a completely new animal in million years. On the other hand, those tiny changes also may be the ones that make the animal adapt better than its relatives and therefore survive the changes of the environment.

So if is similar in appearance, as it seems in the cetaceans, there are movements and changes that are only perceptible in millions of years of evolution.

Can I suppose that the Balaenopteridae family is a young one, therefore many of its members are closely similar? Could be...

____________________

Drawing process on my Instagram Nice posters on my Store

Eden's Whale Little is know about this whale since is thought to be a smaller form of Bryde's Whale and no studies have been done to corroborate this assumption or treat it as a different species. Still, its size can reach up to 11 meters and weigh up to 20 tons. Usually seen in pair or single individuals, still can form groups of 20 animals around feeding areas. The Bryde's whale and Eden's whale share morphological similarities making them had to identify. _________ Show me your love liking and sharing my content. Thank you!. Instagram Store

Antarctic Mink Whale.

First, it was believed to be a subspecies of the Mink Whale but in the 90's it was discovered to be a different species. Like the Mink Whale, it was ignored by whalers because its size made it one of the most abundant whales in the world. However, the decline of other whales, made the Mink Whale today one of the mainstays of the industry, therefore its numbers have started to decline too.

I don't believe whaling should be banned but I do believe it should have stronger control. I think cultures that do whaling shouldn't be deprived of something they have been doing for generations and also helped them to develop into the cultures and countries they are today. But it has to be responsible, as anything else.

These days we have been witnessed violent climate issues in different areas around the world that are just telling us what is coming in the near future if we don't change the way we treat the planet. Just take what you need so others also can have some.

_______ Thank you guys for your attention. This week I just hit 2000 followers. Please like, subscribe, or reblogged, It helps me a lot.

Follow my InstagramCheck out my Store.

Whales are divided into three families. This is the second and biggest: the Balaenopteridae, which contains the biggest animal that ever inhabits the earth. However, we will start with its smallest member but also the fastest: the Mink Whale. This is the most common whale and is probably due to its not being commonly hunted by humans. Its size is too small (about 10m) and does not have enough oil yield, so hunting it is not worth it. Nonetheless, the hunting of this whale has increased.

Its name is confusing because it was first confused and classified wrongly. Its name is derived from the Norwegians who usually refer to any type of small whale as Minkie or Minkies' hval.

The Dwarf Mink Whale was described as a new subspecies not long ago and it is not sure yet if is one. Still has not scientific name. Mink Whale in captivity.

Mink whale has been tried to keep in captivity in Mito Aquarium, in Japan a few times. Most of the specimens died in few weeks while in 1956, the last one was able to scape a net aquarium after 37 days spinning the pool in the same direction.

____ I'm really ignorant of whales and most of this information is new to me. It is very hard to understand the information and translated it into something that I am able to explain. I hope is understood. ____ Thanks for your support. Likes, reblogging, or follows are very much appreciated.

Follow my Instagram Check out my Store.

Poster Balaenidae and Cetotheriidae Family. Although not related, however similar and for many years thought to belong to the same family, The Pygmy Right Whale is the only extant member of the Cetotheriidae family. Despite its size, The biggest difference from the Balaenidae family is that the Pygmy whale has a dorsal fin and its mouth is not as big in proportion to its body as the other Right Whales. You can purchase this poster here

Thank you guys for your support. If you like the content please follow me or share my content. A "like" is also very much appreciated.

Instagram Store

Pygmy Right Whale

I had no idea this one exists. How awesome can be a small version of a right whale? Here it is, the Pygmy Right Whale.

Not much is known about this animal since is one of the whales that has been studied the less. Often confused at sight with the Minke Whale, observation of the Pygmy Right Whale is rather scarce. Lives in the Southern Hemisphere in waters of temperatures that range from 5 to 20 °C.

Follow if you like the content. A like and ar a share are also appreciated.

Store: Here Art process: Here

Right Whales:

The other genus of the Balaenidae family is composed of three species. The three of them are mostly distinguished from each other by distribution or genetic analysis.

The particularity of this genus is the callosities that grow below its mandible that provide the perfect habitat for colonies of whale lice, a form of crustacean, that cannot live in open waters and found this whale the perfect way to travel comfortably. It is a *symbiosis, however, scientists cannot explain concretely why.

Among the three, the Southern Right Whale is the only one that is not in danger, being the North Atlantic Right Whale the one in most critical danger of extinction. This is probably related to its whereabouts which is in areas where humans have been doing whaling for centuries.

I am actually not in total disagreeing with whaling. Not that I will ever participate in such an event or even try something that comes from a whale. However, in some cultures is ingraining for centuries and was extremely important for the survival of humans.

Whaling should be banned today? For us might be a big bold no as an answer because it doesn't affect us at all. But what about if the consumption of chicken or cow is banned? We might say that there is not a relation between both. However, some cultures see the consumption of whales in the way we see the consumption of chicken. Are chicken endangered? Of course not, but the way we are consuming it is putting in danger the whole planet.

Maybe whales are way more charismatic, mysterious and magnificent than chickens but in the end, they both are living beings and if we are going to advocate for one, we should advocate for both. Just to be fair.

*Symbiosis: interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association, typically to the advantage of both.

_______

Thanks again for your support. If you like the content please subscribe. I upload new work every ten days. A share is also very much appreciated.

Art process: Here Store: Here