Cetacean

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

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?Cetacea
2. What are cetaceans?Cetaceans are whales, dolphins, and porpoises. They are large marine mammals that live in the ocean.
3. How did cetaceans change from land animals to sea animals?About 50 million years ago, they evolved from four‑legged land animals. They grew flippers, a blowhole, and other features that let them swim and breathe at the surface.

Artiodactyla: The mammalian order of even-toed ungulates, from which cetaceans are believed to have evolved.
Baleen: Keratinous plates in Mysticeti used for filtering small organisms from water.
Echolocation: Biological sonar used by Odontoceti for navigation and foraging, emitting sound pulses and interpreting echoes.
Bycatch: The unintentional capture of non-target species, such as cetaceans, in fishing gear.