Toothed Whales

Toothed whales (odontocetes) are just that, whales with teeth. They include the orcas, sperm whales, pilot whales, beaked whales, narwhals, belugas, dolphins, and porpoises. Not all of the toothed whales have a mouth full of teeth like the dolphins. The narwhals have just one tusk-like tooth and only male beaked whales have teeth. All have a single blowhole with two separate nostrils. Besides the Sperm whale, most toothed whales are smaller than baleen whales. They are active hunters preying on fish, squid, and even other marine mammals. They use echolocation clicks to locate prey and navigate underwater. These clicks are produced in the nasal cavity and pass out their fatty foreheads. The echo created by each click is sensed and compared to the last click. The difference between the two paints a picture of the object hit. Toothed whales are capable of group hunting like that seen in mammal-eating (transient) orcas.