Cetacean surfacing behaviour

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cetacean-surfacing-behaviour

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Infraorder Cetacea
2. What special moves do whales and dolphins do when they come to the surface?They can leap out of the water in a big splash called breaching, stick their heads up to look around (spyhopping), slap the water with their tails (lobtailing), and even ride the waves made by boats (bow-riding).
3. Why do dolphins splash together when they are looking for food?The splash helps them work as a team to corral or herd fish, making it easier to catch them.

Infraorder Cetacea: The taxonomic classification encompassing all whales, dolphins, and porpoises, characterized by their aquatic adaptations.
Odontoceti: The suborder of toothed cetaceans, known for their echolocation abilities and diverse feeding strategies.
Mysticeti: The suborder of baleen whales, distinguished by their filter-feeding apparatus and generally larger body size.
Spyhopping: A behavior where a cetacean vertically protrudes its head from the water to visually survey its surroundings.