Sea Mammals

Sea Mammals are exactly that – mammals (animals that bear live young and then nurse them) that live in the sea. They once lived on land. They had evolved from the sea, from that first algae, into the fish that crawled out of the water. They learned to breath air and walk. Then they returned to the sea.

The skeletons I’ve seen of sea mammals show finger bones in the fins. It’s almost eerie.

Sea mammals include dolphins, whales, manatees, etc. These animals have lungs rather than gills and must return to the surface for air.

Whale sharks are not sea mammals – they are fish. They have gills.

Why did so many animals return to the sea?

Here is a more or less complete list of marine mammals:

Whales:

• Andrews' beaked whale -- Mesoplodon bowdoini
• Arnoux's beaked whale -- Berardius arnuxii
• Baird's beaked whale -- Berardius bairdii
• Beluga --- Delphinapterus leucas
• Blainsville's whale -- Mesoplodon densirostris
• Blue whale -- Balaenoptera musculus
• Bowhead whale-- Balaena mysticetus
• Bryde's whale-- Balaenoptera edeni
• Cuvier's beaked whale-- Ziphius cavirostris
• Fin whale-- Balaenoptera physalus
• Gervais beaked whale-- Mesoplodon europaeus
• Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale-- Mesoplodon ginkgodens
• Gray's beaked whale-- Mesoplodon grayi
• Grey whale--- Eschrichtius robustus
• Hector's beaked whale-- Mesoplodon hectori
• Hubb's beaked whale-- Mesoplodon carlhubbsi
• Humpback whale--- Megaptera novaeangliae
• Longman's beaked whale-- Indopacetus pacificus
• Minke whale-- Balaenoptera acutorostrata
• Narwhal -- Monodon monoceros
• Northern bottlenose whale-- Hyperoodon ampullatus
• Northern right whale--- Eubalaena glacialis
• Pygmy beaked whale-- Mesoplodon peruvianus
• Pygmy Right whale-- Caperea marginata
• Pygmy sperm whale-- Kogia breviceps
• Sei whale-- Balaenoptera borealis
• Shepherd's beaked whale-- Tasmacetus shepherdi
• Southern Bottlenose whale-- Hyperoodon planifrons
• Southern Right whale-- Eubalaena australis
• Sowerby's beaked whale-- Mesoplodon bidens
• Sperm whale-- Physeter catadon
• Stejneger's beaked whale-- Mesoplodon stejnegeri
• Strap-toothed whale-- Mesoplodon layardii
• Tasman beaked whale-- Tasmacetus shepherdi
• True's beaked whale-- Mesoplodon mirus

Dolphins:

• Amazon River dolphin -- Inia geoffrensis
• Atlantic Hump-backed dolphin -- Sousa teuszii
• Atlantic Spotted dolphin -- Stenella frontalis
• Atlantic white-sided dolphin --- Lagenorhynichus acutus
• Black dolphin -- Cephalorhynchus eutropia
• Bottlenose dolphin --- Tursiops truncatus
• Chinese River dolphin -- Lipotes vexillifer
• Chinese White dolphin -- Sousa chinensis
• Clymene dolphin -- Stenella clymene
• Common dolphin --- Delphinus delphis
• Commerson's dolphin -- Cephalorhynchus commersonii
• Dusky dolphin -- Lagenorhynchus obscurus
• False killer whale--- Pseudorca crassidens
• Fraser's dolphin -- Lagenodelphis hosei
• Ganges River dolphin or Susu -- Platanista gangetica
• Heaviside's dolphin -- Cephalorhynchus heavisidii
• Hector's dolphin -- Cephalorhynchus hectori
• Hourglass dolphin -- Lagenorhynchus cruciger
• Indus River dolphin -- Platanista minor
• Irrawaddy dolphin -- Orcaella brevirostris
• Killer whale--- Orcinus orca
• La Plata dolphin -- Pontoporia blainvillei
• Long-beaked Common dolphin -- Delphinus capensis
• Long-finned pilot whale-- Globicephala melaena
• Melon-headed whale-- Peponocephala electra
• Northern right whale dolphin --- Lissodelphis borealis
• Pacific white-sided dolphin --Lagenorhynichus obliquidens
• Pantropical Spotted dolphin -- Stenella attenuata
• Peale's dolphin -- Lagenorhynchus australis
• Pygmy Killer whale-- Feresa attenuata
• Risso's dolphin -- Grampus griseus
• Rough-toothed dolphin -- Steno bredanensis
• Short-finned pilot whale--- Globicephala macrorhynchus
• Southern right whale dolphin -- Lissodelphis peronii
• Spinner dolphin -- Stenella longirostris
• Striped dolphin -- Stenella coeruleoalba
• Tucuxi or Tucuzi -- Sotalia fluviatillis
• White beaked dolphin --- Lagenorhynichus albirostris

Porpoises:

• Harbour porpoise --- Phocoena phocoena
• Dall's porpoise -- Phocoenoides dalli
• Burmeister's porpoise -- Phocoena spinipinnis
• Finless porpoise -- Neophocaena phocaenoides
• Spectacled porpoise -- Australophocoena dioptrica
• Vaquita -- Phocoena sinus

Seals and sea lions:

• Australian sea lion -- Neophoca cinerea
• Australian fur seal -- Arctocephalus pusillus
• bearded seal --- Erignathus barbatus
• California sea lion -- Zalophus californianus
• Caribbean monk seal -- Monachus tropicalis
• Crabeater seal -- Lobodon carcinophagus
• Grey seal -- Halichoerus grypus
• Galagapos sea lion -- Zalophus californianus wollebacki
• Guadalupe fur seal -- Arctocephalus townsendi
• Harbour seal --- Phoca vitulina
• Harp seal -- Phoca groenlandica
• Hawaiian monk seal -- Monachus schauinslandi
• Hooded seal -- Cystophora cristata
• Leopard seal -- Hydrurga leptonyx
• Mediterranean monk seal -- Monachus monachus
• New Zealand fur seal -- Arctocephalus forsteri
• New Zealand sea lion -- Phocarctos hookeri
• Northern elephant seal -- Mirounga angustirostris
• Northern fur seal -- Callorhinus ursinus
• Northern sea lion -- Mirounga angustirostris
• Pacific harbor seal -- Phoca vitulina richardsi
• Ringed seal -- Phoca hispida
• Ross seal -- Ommatophoca rossii
• Southern elephant seal -- Mirounga leonina
• Spotted seal -- Phoca vitulina
• Steller sea lion -- Eumetopias jubatus
• Weddell seal -- Leptonychotes weddelli

Walrus:

• Walrus -- Odobenus rosmarus

Bears:

• Polar bear -- Ursus maritimus

Manatees and sea cows:

• Dugong --- Dugong dugon
• Steller's sea cow -- Hydrodamalis gigas (extinct)
• Amazon ox manatee -- Trichechus inunguis
• West African manatee -- Trichechus senegalensis
• West Indian manatee - Trichechus manatus