Definition: Large marine mammals of the order CETACEA. In the past, they were commercially valued for whale oil, for their flesh as human food and in ANIMAL FEED and FERTILIZERS, and for baleen. Today, there is a moratorium on most commercial whaling, as all species are either listed as endangered or threatened.
some dolphins are misnamed "whales": note FALSE KILLER WHALE; PYGMY KILLER WHALE; and MELON-HEADED WHALE; are entry terms to DOLPHINS; PILOT WHALES; and KILLER WHALE; both types of dolphin, are also available
See AlsoAmbergris ExamplesBalaenoptera; Beluga Whale; Bowhead Whale; Humpback Whale; Sperm Whale
Other names Ziphius; Ziphiidae; Right Whale, Southern; Right Whale, North Atlantic; Pygmy Sperm Whale; Pygmy Right Whale; Narwhals; Mesoplodon; Gray Whale; Goose-Beaked Whale; Giant Bottle-Nosed Whales; Dwarf Sperm Whale; Berardius; Beaked Whales; Caperea; Whales, Southern Right; Whales, Grey; Whale, Southern Right; Whale, Grey; Sperm Whales, Pygmy
