Are whales just really big fish?

If you ask a kindergarten class, where? fish alive they may cry, “Into the water!” Fish can live in lakes, rivers, the ocean and even in a small bowl on your kitchen table. Whales live in water just like fish, but are whales fish? Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between whales and fish.

Where do whales and fish live?

This is one thing that whales and fish have in common, they both live in an aquatic environment. Depending on the species, fish can live in fresh or salt water. Whales mainly live in the ocean, but there are a few dolphin species (yes, dolphins are a type of whale) that live in fresh water like the Amazon River Dolphin. Some animals like alligators and crocodiles live in water and on land, while both whales and fish live entirely in water.

How do whales and fish breathe?

One of the main differences between whales and fish is that: whales are mammals so they breathe air and have lungs. Whales have to come to the surface of the water to get air through their blowhole (some have one, others have two). Their blowholes are connected to their lungs and supply them with the oxygen they need. Large whales have large lungs, so they can stay underwater for extended periods of time. sperm whales can hold their breath for up to 90 minutes!

Fish have gills. Gills are slats on the side of the fish that allow water to flow through. Small blood vessels are able to take the oxygen out of the water and remove the carbon dioxide. Some fish can get enough oxygen from the water without having to swim much, while some fish sharks (sharks are fish, not whales) must keep moving so that the water goes over their gills. Other sharks have a buccal pumping system that actively sucks water into their mouths over the gills so they don’t have to be in constant motion.

Fish vs Whale: How big are they?

Whales are the largest animal on the planet, but there are also fish that grow quite large. The biggest whale is the blue one whale that can grow to 70-90 feet in length (and the largest ever measured over 110 feet)! Followed by the fin whaleright whale, sperm whale and hunchback. The largest fish species actually has the word “whale” in its name, the whale shark, but it’s a shark (and sharks are fish). Whale sharks can grow into be over 50 feet tall. The other biggest fish are sharks too with the basking shark, great white shark and tiger shark coming in next. The largest radius (which is a fish) is the Giant oceanic Manta ray and the largest bony fish (Osteichthyes) is the sunfish. These angelfish are very strange looking fish with no tail and a blob-like shape. It floats on its side near the surface of the ocean. They can grow 14 feet from fin tip to fin tip and weigh up to 5000 lbs! For reference, a Smart Car weighs about 1550 lbs and an adult Rhinoceros can weigh 5000 lbs. Now that’s a big fish!

How do they swim?

Another difference between whales and fish is their story, whale tails have a fin that is horizontal and it moves up and down to move through the water. Fish tails are vertical and are moved back and forth to slide through the water. Some fish, such as rays, don’t use their tails for propulsion, but flap their sides to create a current for foraging.

How do fish and whales maintain their temperature?

Whales are mammals and are therefore warm-blooded. They have a thick layer of blubber to maintain their temperature. You can tell from whales that they are covered in blubber, but what about the slender dolphin, do they have blubber? Yes! They have a layer of blubber under their skin that serves the same purpose of trapping heat.

Fish are not mammals and are cold-blooded, so they don’t have to trap heat in the chilly depths of the water they live in. They can adapt to the temperature of their environment. In the animal world, there always seem to be exceptions, so there are some tuna and sharks that are partially warm-blooded, but in 2015, scientists found the first fully warm-blooded fish. The opal fish, a large round fish that glistens in the sun, can be found off the coast of Hawaii. Scientists tested the core temperature of opal fish and found that it was constantly warm as the heat circulated throughout their bodies!

How do whales and fish have babies?

Returning to whales being mammals, a feature of mammals is that they give birth to
li
ve young. Talk about big babies! A baby blue whale can weigh 5,000-6,000 lbs! That is about the same size as the adult rhinoceros mentioned above. Whales usually have one baby at a time, with the occasional twin.

Fish on the other hand lay eggs, and a lot! Some fish species can lay more than a thousand eggs at a time. There are several ways fish lay eggs, the most common is that the females release the eggs into the water or near rocks and crevices and the male comes along and fertilizes them. They grow into larvae and hatch and then grow into adult fish. Some fish allow the eggs to grow inside their bodies and then release live larvae.

Sharks are a bit trickier, there are some that lay eggs (oviparous) and some that give birth live baby sharks (viviparous). Sharks don’t have thousands of eggs, but they do have more babies at once than whales. The sand tiger shark gives birth to two babies while the blue shark can give birth to more than a hundred live shark babies at once, that’s a lot of siblings now!

So, are whales fish?

Whales are not fish. As we have described, whales are warm-blooded while almost all fish are cold-blooded. Fish also breathe through gills while whales have lungs and breathe air from above the ocean surface. In addition, whales give life to young while most fish lay eggs. For all these reasons, whales are mammals that emerged from the land about 50 million years ago, while fish have always adapted to the seas.

How do whales and fish raise their young?

Another difference between whales and fish is that whales generally raise their young and nurture them until they are able to fend for themselves. are mammals, newborn whales rely on their mothers for milk which strengthens their bond. Some whales stay with their mothers for six months to a few years.

Fish are generally alone when they hatch. Many species are born with a bag of nutrients that they live on until they are adept at finding their own food. Shark babies born from eggs are usually alone and equipped to survive once hatched. Sharks that give birth to live babies, such as the hammerhead shark try to find a good place to give birth so the babies can find food and shelter, but they are ready to go out alone.