whalebone whale

[hweyl-bohn hweyl, weyl-bohn weyl]

noun

1. baleen whale.

whalebone whale

noun

1. any whale belonging to the cetacean suborder Mysticeti, having a double blowhole and strips of whalebone between the jaws instead of teeth: includes the rorquals, right whales, and the blue whale Compare toothed whale

Word History and Origins

Origin of whalebone whale¹

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

In North America, right whales were called the true whale, the whalebone whale, the 7ft bone whale and the rock-nose whale.

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These animals are called whalebone whales because when fully formed instead of teeth they have up to 800 or more plates of baleen or whalebone depending from the roof of the mouth.

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The colossal sperm-whale, undisputed lord of the ocean, never came into these cold northern waters; and the huge, blundering whalebone whales he despised.

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These pteropods are small, active, oceanic, surface-swimming creatures, many of which live in delicate glass-like shells, and some of which form a large part of the food of the whalebone whale.

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The whales of to-day are divided into the toothed whales and the whalebone whales.

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