Rorquals | Balaenopteridae

Vinvissen | Rorcuales

Baleen whales with a long, streamlined body, a small dorsal fin set far back and throat grooves: pleats in the skin of throat and chest that let the mouth cavity expand greatly when feeding. Instead of teeth, baleen plates of horn-like material hang from the upper jaw, with which the animal strains krill and small schooling fish from the water it has gulped. They have two blowholes. Like all whales they belong to the even-toed ungulates; the hippopotamus is their closest living relative on land.