The blue whale

Whale skull

Whales in the Museum
This is the skull of a humpback whale. It is a baleen whale like the blue whale. They both use baleen to filter small animals called krill out of the water around them. Blue whales eat massive amounts of krill - up to four tonnes every day!
Look at the picture. The long jaw bones have been adapted to anchor the baleen plates the whale uses to filter its food. They are not like our jaws - feel around your mouth - what is this whale missing?

Return to the blue whale page and learn more about the other images.