Comments on: Before Leviathan

By: Animal’s Daily News | Animal Magnetism

Animal’s Daily News | Animal Magnetism — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:17:54 +0000

[...] non-computer story: Before Leviathan. An interesting piece of the evolution of baleen whales. No zombies. [...]

By: tall blue ape

tall blue ape — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:38:07 +0000

“the biggest animals to have ever lived, in fact”

When a fossil finally emerges to make this a non-fact, there are gonna be some red faces, ah tell you what.

[CZ: I look forward to that day. But in the meantime, blue whales hold the record.]

By: Markita Lynda, healthcare is a damn right.

Markita Lynda, healthcare is a damn right. — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:22:03 +0000

Among the transitional whale fossils hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian(?) Museum of Natural History is a whale with both baleen and small teeth.

The water is taken into the mouth and then pressed out by the massive tongue, leaving krill and other plankton caught on the baleen curtain.

By: Glendon Mellow

Glendon Mellow — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:43:09 +0000

That is one very impactful image by Carl Buell! I love the texture of the school of fish behind Janjucetus and how it lends movement to an otherwise serene piece without employing lots of bubbles.

Terrific sucky post.

By: Mike Haubrich

Mike Haubrich — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:38:32 +0000

So, do baleen whales extract moisture from their food as other cetaceans do? Or do their kidneys have adaptations to remove salt from the water they gulp?

By: Scott Nebeker

Scott Nebeker — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 02:01:51 +0000

This is a great article and all, but I’m growing very tired of following links to amazon.com and finding that the linked book is not available on the Kindle (not just here). You clearly understand digital media since you are writing on this blog, so what’s with not having eBook versions of your work?

You just missed out on ten of my shiniest dollars. I’m sure that fact will have you turning all night long.

[CZ: Scott, the decision is not mine to make; it's my publisher's.]

By: David B. Benson

David B. Benson — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 23:30:52 +0000

Interesting.

No close relatives of baleen whales bite fish, I take it.