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  • Close-up of humpback whale blowhole as the whale exhales and produces a cloud of water spray. Vava'u, Tonga
    humpback-whale-blowhole-water-spray-...tif
  • This perspective of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) performing a forward head lunge provides a clear view of the whale's two blowholes. Viewed from this position, the blowhole structure resembles a human nose turned upside down. Baleen whales like humpbacks have two blowholes in this fashion, in contrast to toothed whales, which have a single blowhole.
    humpback-whale-head-lunge-blowholes-...tif
  • Viewed from the top-down, the small hole near the top of this sperm whale's skull for the animal's left nasal passage is clearly visible. Sperm whales have a single blowhole on its left side. The nasal passage connected to its blowhole passes through this hole.
    top-view-sperm-whale-skull-nasal-pas...tif
  • View of the back of a massive humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae) coming for a breath of air. When viewed from this angle, the whale's blowholes resemble the shape of a person's nose.
    humpback-whale-dorsal-surface-with-n...tif
  • Close-up view of the blowholes of a deceased blue whale. The whale was most likely struck and killed by a large commercial vessel. Major shipping lanes pass through the middle of blue whale feeding grounds to the south of Sri Lanka. Photo taken under permit.
    blowholes-blue-whale-sri-lanka-Balae...tif
  • Whereas baleen whales have two exterior nostrils (called blowholes), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) have a single blowhole on the left side of their heads. The other nostril has been modified into an internal organ called the phonic lip that produces the clicks and other sounds that these whales use for communication and echolocation.
    sperm-whale-blowhole-201703-1222.tif
  • This small but steady stream of bubbles made it possible to locate calf 201238 (male) and his mother, even in atrociously poor visibility like this, with the whales located in deep, dark water. In this photo, the calf is starting to rise to the surface, the faint silhouette of his mother just barely visible. The adult female seemed to leak a steady stream of air from her blowholes, almost as if she had a leak. This was true over repetitive encounters (see separate close-up photo of the female’s blowholes leaking air). More puzzling, however, was the fact that the adult stopped streaming bubbles just before our final encounter with her and the calf. Did the mother have a blowhole leak? Or was she knowingly letting air escape? The calf was a shy boy, always sticking close to his mother. The pair put on a great tail-slapping and breaching display for us.
    humpback-whale-leaking-air-from-blow...tif
  • Head-on view of an inquisitive juvenile sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) accompanied by large remoras and tiny pilot fish. Note the shedding of the whale's skin, which is common for sperm whales. The position of the whale's single blowhole on the left side of its head is also apparent from this angle of view.
    sperm-whale-frontal-view-physeter-ma...tif
  • This adult humpback whale female was in deep, dark water with horrible visibility on an overcast day. She would have been nearly impossible to locate, had it not been for the steady stream of air bubbles she emitted from her blowholes, almost as if she were leaking air. This female was accompanied by calf 201238 (male), which was quite shy and stayed close to his mother. The stream of bubbles allowed me to keep track of her for an extended period, but for some reason, the trail of bubbles stopped at one point, begging the question of whether there was an actual leak, or whether she was consciously emitting the stream of bubbles.
    humpback-whale-leaking-air-from-blow...tif
  • This is a view of the blowholes of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae australis) from the rear.. There are several wounds visible, the most prominent of which is on the nostril ridge of the whale’s left side, with several other injured areas visible on the dorsal surface of the right side. These circular areas of exposed flesh are the scars left by cookiecutter sharks (Isistius brasiliensis), which swim up from deep water at night to take bites from larger animals.
    humpback-whale-cookiecutter-shark-bi...tif
  • Adult female humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) at rest while her calf was playing at the ocean surface. Note the small stream of bubbles coming from her blowholes. From this angle, the pattern and array of tubercles on the whale’s head is clearly visible, as are the barnacles (Coronula diadema), whale lice (Cyamus boopis), and hairs on the whale’s jaw.
    humpback-whale-adult-female-resting-...tif
  • This is a southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) brindle calf surfacing to breathe, facing away from the camera. Infesting the area around the calf’s blowholes are whale lice, likely Cyamus ovalis. About 4% of southern right whale calves are born with white and black pigmentation, as shown here. These calves are always male. As they mature, such calves darken but never turn completely dark like other southern rights. About 6% of southern right whales have a partial brindle pattern. All such whales are female. Photographed with the permission of the Department of Environmental Affairs, South Africa.
    southern-right-whale-brindle-calf-eu...tif
  • Gray whale calf (Eschrichtius robustus) looking up from the water at people on a boat, with its large mother in the foreground. Hairs are visible on the juvenile whale’s head, underscoring the fact that whales are mammals. The adult’s blowholes are clearly visible as well, once again emphasizing that these animals breathe air, just like we do.
    gray-whale-mother-calf-baja-mexico-2...tif
  • A playful male humpback whale calf (Megaptera novaeangliae) with his mouth open and a stream of bubbles coming out of his blowholes. This calf was highly interactive and inquisitive. I nicknamed him Rambo.
    humpback-whale-calf-mouth-open-bubbl...tif
  • Female humpback whale executing a face flop forward breach. When humpback whales perform this maneuver, jets of water often shoot out from the sides of their mouths and their blowholes, as is visible here. This female was playing with her calf, which was breaching nearby.
    humpback-whale-female-forward-breach...tif
  • Infestation of whale lice (Cyamus scammoni) in the blowholes of a gray whale calf (Eschrichtius robustus). Whale lice are amphipods that scavenge for food on the whale's body, including the whale's skin and flesh. There is sexual dimorphism among adult Cyamus scammoni, with males being larger than females. Unlike the young of most other marine crustaceans, which have a planktonic larval stage, juvenile whale lice mature in a pouch-like structure called the marsupium, which is located on the underside of females. Photographed in Baja California, Mexico.
    whale-lice-cyamus-scammoni-infestati...tif
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