Guinness World Records 2018

Longest basilosaurid

Basilosaurids were prehistoric whales that

existed 34–40 million years ago, during the late

Mid- to early Late Eocene epoch. Most were

characterized by lengthy, serpentine or eel-like

bodies, and some grew to immense sizes. The

longest basilosaurid species presently known

from fossils is Basilosaurus cetoides, which

grew to 18 m (59 ft) and possibly longer. Its great

length was due to a marked elongation of the

central portion (centrum) of the thoracic and

anterior caudal vertebrae in its backbone.

Largest mouth

The blue whale might be the world’s largest

animal (see above) but it doesn’t have the

biggest mouth. That honour belongs to the

bowhead whale (Balaena mysticetus), which

has a mouth measuring 5 m (16 ft 4 in) long,

4 m (13 ft 1 in) high and 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide.

Its tongue weighs approximately 1 tonne

(2,200 lb) – about the same as a dairy cow.

Whales

ANIMALS
Taxonomically, there is no such thing as a whale: whales are
a diverse group of mammals within the infraorder Cetacea

The closest

living relatives

of whales

are the

hippopotamuses

The nose of

a blue whale

measures

5 m (16 ft

4.8 in) long

The tongue of a blue whale weighs the

same as an adult bull elephant

A blue whale’s heartbeat

is loud enough to be heard

3 km (1.86 mi) away

Most common baleen whale

Owing to its relatively small size, low oil yield

and a distribution mainly in the southern

hemisphere, the Antarctic or southern

minke whale (Balaenoptera [aka Rorqualus]

bonaerensis) was generally ignored by the

whaling industry during the pre-modern age,

so its numbers have remained high. In 2006,

a scientific report detailing three completed

circumpolar sets of Antarctic minke whale

surveys, spanning 1978-79 to 2003–04,

estimated that it numbered in the hundreds

of thousands – far more than the number

estimated for any other baleen whale.

The largest taxonomic family of baleen

whales is Balaenopteridae, containing the

rorquals, which consists of nine currently

recognized species. These include the blue

whale, the sei whale (Balaenoptera [aka

Rorqualus] borealis) and the humpback whale

(Megaptera novaeangliae). Like all baleen

whales, rorquals feed mainly on tiny marine

organisms that they strain from seawater via

large comb- or sieve-like baleen plates, but

some will also gulp down larger fishes.

Adult male short-finned pilot whales

(Globicephala macrorhynchus) have a maximum

recorded body length of 7.2 m (23 ft 7.4 in), the

largest pilot whale. Adult females grow to

5.5 m (18 ft). The species inhabits the Pacific

Ocean’s warm temperate and tropical waters.

Largest beaked whale

Baird’s beaked whale (Berardius bairdii) is one

of three species categorized as giant beaked

whales. Native to cold temperate waters in the

LONGEST WHALE TOOTH

The single-spiralled ivory tusk of the male narwhal

(Monodon monoceros) attains an average of

around 2 m (6 ft 6 in) long. Occasionally, however,

specimens have been found that exceed 3 m

(9 ft 10 in) and weigh up to 10 kg (22 lb), with a

maximum girth of approximately 23 cm (9 in).

Very rarely, the narwhal grows a pair of tusks.

LARGEST ANIMAL

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) can

weigh 160 tonnes (352,000 lb), with an average

length of 24 m (80 ft). A specimen caught in the

Antarctic Ocean on 20 Mar 1947 was said to weigh

190 tonnes (418,878 lb) with a length of 27.6 m

(90 ft 6 in). The longest animal, however, is the

bootlace worm (Lineus longissimus), found in the

shallow waters of the North Sea: one such worm

washed ashore in 1864 exceeded 55 m (180 ft).

SMALLEST WHALE

Whales are generally considered to be the larger

members of the Cetacea infraorder (which also

includes dolphins and porpoises), although not

all whales are enormous. The smallest species

commonly understood to be a whale is the dwarf

sperm whale (Kogia sima), at up to 2.72 m (8 ft 11 in)

long and weighing 272 kg (600 lb).

GREATEST WEIGHT

LOSS IN AN ANIMAL

During her seven-month

lactation period, a

120-tonne (264,555-lb)

female blue whale can

lose 25% of her weight

while nursing her calf.

Blue whale calves

weigh around

2,500 kg (5,511 lb

9 oz) at birth, but

thereafter add

some 80–100 kg

(176–220 lb) per

day during the

lactation period.

The mother

eats very little

during these

seven months,

relying almost

entirely on her

body reserves

for energy.

GREATEST SIZE DIFFERENCE

BETWEEN PREDATOR AND PREY

Blue whales are the largest mammals and

the largest animals (see above right). Their

prey is minuscule, however: they feed on krill,

tiny shrimp-like crustaceans around 50 mm

(2 in) long. To feed, a blue whale gulps in vast

quantities of krill-filled seawater. It expels the

water by lifting the world’s heaviest tongue

(typically weighing 4 tonnes, or 8,818 lb) to the

roof of its mouth, leaving the krill trapped in the

strands of baleen

(bristle-like

protein) that

hang from its

upper jaw.

Then

they are

swallowed.

100%

Q: What is unusual

about the way in which

sperm whales sleep?

A: They float “standing up”