The blue whale

Whale jaw bone

Whales in the Museum
The blue whale is a baleen whale - it filters its food, and has no teeth. But not all whales are like this - some species have teeth they use to catch and eat fish and marine animals.
This picture shows the lower jaw of a sperm whale on display in the Museum. It is over five metres long and is covered in large peg-like teeth. Teeth like these were once carved by whalers and used to make decorative ornaments called scrimshaw.

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