baleen
3
9.9
- noun
- /bəˈlin/
- Specialized
:
barbilla
- The right whale's mouth containsabout 250 baleen plates, enabling it to filter tons of zooplankton.
- baleen whales
The woven grids they keep affixed to the largest shells work like baleen, although much coarser.
- The woven grids they keep affixed to the largest shells work like baleen, although much coarser.
Examples
-
Nor is this tactic limited to flying forms: mysticete whales use immense strainers of keratin fiber, collectively known as baleen, to skim up larger zooplankton.
Academic text (1999) -
The right whale's mouth contains about 250 baleen plates, enabling it to filter tons of zooplankton.
-
The humpback is a baleen whale.
-
Instead of teeth, they have baleen platesthat filter food out of the water.
-
The highlight of the morning was a large baleen whale that spent several minutes cruising with Hikianalia.
Blog text (7) -
The approximately 77 species of whales fall into two main categories: baleen whales and toothed whales.
Academic text (1994) -
The water will be filtered outthrough the baleen plates, and the entire school of fish, trapped inside, will become this fin whale's dinner.
-
The minke whale, the only whale Norwegians hunt today, is a smaller baleen whale that reaches a length of up to 10 meters.
Academic text (1994) -
Comb-like filters in its mouth, called baleen, act like sieves, capturing the krill as the water drains away.
-
Instead of teeth, they have baleen plates that filter food out of the water.
Synonyms
2
8.3
A strong, bendy material from whale jaw bones that makes corsets and umbrella ribs stiff
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
Baleen comes from the French baleine, which means 'whale' and is like Spanish ballena. It originally meant the strong, flexible plates in a whale's mouth, so baleen today refers to those whale plates that were once used to stiffen things like corsets and fans.