mysticete
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈmɪstɪˌsiːt/
- Specialized
:
misticeto
- Mysticete whales, such as the blue whale, filter krill from the water using their baleen plates.
- mysticete whales
Examples
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Fossil odontocetes and mysticetes have blowholes that are more caudal (toward the tail) than the Eocene cetaceans, but commonly not as caudal as in modern species.
Academic text (2001) -
This could indicate that: 1) lung volumes of mysticete whales are smaller than estimated from excised lungs in which some amount of air is likely to be trapped.
Academic text (2018) -
Mysticete is a symphony of whale intonation recorded 20,000 feet under the sea in the Mariana Trench.
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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 youngest and most derived Eocene cetaceans are basilosaurids and dorudontids, the latter of which are the sister group to the modern suborders, mysticetes and odontocetes.
Academic text (2001) -
The research focused on how mysticete species feed by skimming the surface of the ocean for plankton.
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To identify a mysticete, look for the large size and the presence of baleen rather than teeth.
Synonyms
1
5.6
A large whale with plates in its mouth that filter tiny sea animals
Large marine mammals that use baleen plates to filter food from water
A large whale that uses thin, brush-like plates in its mouth to filter tiny sea animals from water
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word mysticete comes from the Greek parts mystax and ketos, which mean 'mustache' and 'whale'. Think of a whale with a 'mustache' of baleen plates that it uses to filter tiny food from the water, which is why mysticete means a baleen whale.