Collection: Cetaceans, Whales & Dolphins

Whales are a group of fully aquatic mammals that live throughout the world’s oceans, and some rivers. They are part of a larger group of mammals called “even toed ungulates” which includes cows, pigs, deer, camels, and their closest living relative the hippopotamus. There are over 90 living species including all baleen whales, sperm whales, dolphins, and porpoises which range in size from the Vaquita, a roughly 4.5 foot dolphin, to the Blue Whale, the largest known animal to ever live at 100 feet long and 200 tons! Their diet is as varied as their size with the large baleen whales feeding on large schools of krill and small fish, the sperm whales which feed on giant squid, and dolphins and orcas which feed on pretty much everything and anything they want using their coordinated hunting strategies, raw power, and unique abilities like echolocation! Even on top of all these amazing characteristics, whales’ intelligence is really something else, showing incredible problem-solving capabilities and language, as well as deep emotions which have allowed them to connect with people from around the world! These amazing qualities don’t just apply to the present day either. The whale lineage is one of if not the best fossil lineages of all life. First appearing over 50 million years ago as a small four-legged animal that lived by the water, the fossil record has captured in exquisite detail the gradual transformation into the iconic leviathans of today with numerous transitional species showing the body elongating, hindlegs vanishing, nostrils migrating from the tip of the snout to the top of the head, and so on as these animals fully adapted to an aquatic life. Whales are truly magnificent animals with equally fantastic fossils worthy of any collection!