Whales, dolphins and porpoises: fully aquatic mammals descended from land-dwelling, hoofed ancestors, with forelimbs modified into flippers, no hind limbs, and a horizontally flattened tail fluke used for propulsion. Cetacea includes the blue whale, the largest animal known to have ever lived.
Facts
Disputed
Member Species/Taxa CountApproximate described-species (or, for a genus, described-taxon) count; continually revised as species are newly described, reclassified or synonymized. Taxonomic Rank Scientific Name Classification
Living or Extinct Connections
Child Taxon Of
Parent Taxon Of
Sources
1. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ160, descriptionView the Source 2. Catalogue of Life
Wikidata: Cetacea
Cetacean (Wikipedia)
In Group: Laurasiatherian Orders, LeadQuote, In Group: Laurasiatherian Orders, Lead
Cetaceans are marine mammals belonging to the infraorder Cetacea (), a secondarily aquatic clade under the order Artiodactyla that include whales, dolphins, porpoises and extinct groups such as Basilosaurus.
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