Baleen whales
Baleen Whales include large cetaceans that use long baleen plates for feeding. These plates are made of the same material (protein) that your hair and finger nails are made from, called keratin.
- Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
- Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
- Humpback whale (Megaptera noveangliae)
- Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
- North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis)
- Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Seals
Seals (also called pinnipeds) are separated into two groups, local and seasonal. Our local seals which include harbor seals and gray seals, do not migrate far and love to hang out on our local rocky coast line. We also have seals that only visit Maine on the rare occasion, such as the Atlantic walrus.
- Atlantic walrus (Odobenus rosmarus)
- Gray seal (Halichoerus grypus)
- Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina)
- Harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus)
- Hooded seal (Cystophora cristata)
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Ringed seal (Pusa hispida)
Toothed whales
Toothed whales include a range of species of dolphins, porpoise, and larger whales. From some of the smallest toothed whales, such as harbor porpoises, to some of the largest toothed whales, such as the sperm whale.
- Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenortynchus acutus)
- Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
- Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)
- Common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
- Harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)
- Killer whale (Orcinus orca)
- Long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas)
- Sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus)
- Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba)
- True’s beaked whale (Mesoplodon mirus)
- White-beaked dolphin (Lagenortynchus albirostris)
