what is baleen whale?
A parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea.
Baleen whale
Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, form a parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises).
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Baleen whale [SEP] Introduction
Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, form a parvorder of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises). They are a widely distributed and diverse parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals. Mysticeti comprise the families Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale). There are currently 15 species of baleen whales. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, (which would place them outside the order Artiodactyla), molecular evidence supports them as a clade of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) around 34 million years ago.