A  | B  | C  | D  | E  | F  | G  | H  | I  | J  | K  | L  | M  | N  | O  | P  | Q  | R  | S  | T  | U  | V  | W  | X  | Y  | Z

A

Adult
Sexually mature animal that is (or is almost) fully grown

B

Beach-Rubbing
Rubbing the body on stones in shallow water near the shore
Beak
Forward-projecting jaws of a cetacean (also known as a snout)
Blaze
Light streaking of colour, usually starting below the dorsal fin and pointing up into the cape
Blow
Cloud of moisture-laden air exhaled by cetaceans; may be used to describe the act of breathing
Blowhole
Nostril(s) on the top of the head
Blubber
Insulating layer of fat beneath the skin of most marine mammals
Bow-Riding
Riding on the pressure wave in front of a large ship or large whale
Breaching
Act of leaping completely (or almost completely) out of the water and landing back with a splash
Bull
Adult male whale

C

Calf
Baby cetacean that is still being nursed by its mother
Callosity
Area of roughened skin or horny growth on the head of a right whale
Cape
Darker region on the back of many cetaceans around the dorsal fin
Cetacean
Marine mammal belonging to the order cetacea, which includes all whales, dolphins and porpoises
Cow
Adult female whale

D

Dorsal
Towards the upper side
Dorsal Fin
Raised structure on the back of most cetaceans
Dorsal Ridge
Hump or ridge that replaces a dorsal fin in some cetaceans

E

Echolocation
System used by many cetaceans to orientate, navigate, and find food by sending out sounds and interpreting the returning echoes

F

Flipper
Paddle shaped front limb of a cetacean (sometimes known as pectoral fin)
Flipper-Slapping
Raising a flipper out of the water and slapping in onto the surface
Flukes
Horizontally flattened tail of cetaceans (containing no bone)
Fluking
Act of raising the flukes into the air upon diving

H

Herd
Coordinated group of cetaceans (often used in connection with larger baleen whales)

J

Juvenile
Young cetacean that is no longer being nursed by its mother bit is not yet sexually mature

K

Keel
Distinctive Bulge on the tail stock near the flukes

L

Lobtailing
Forceful slapping of flukes against the water, whilst most of the animal lies just under the surface (also known as tail-slapping)
Logging
Lying still at or near the surface

M

Melon
Bulbous forehead of many toothed whales, dolphins and porpoises; believed to be used to focus sounds for echolocation

P

Peduncle-Slapping
Act of throwing the rear portion of the body out of the water and slapping it sideways onto the surface, or another whale (also known as Tail breaching)
Pod
Coordinated group of cetaceans (often used in connection with larger toothed whales)

R

Rooster tail
Spray of water formed when certain small cetaceans surface at high speed; it is caused by a cone of water coming off the animal's head
Rostrum
Upper jaw of the skull (may be used to refer to the beak or snout)

S

Saddle-Patch
Light patch behind the dorsal fin on some cetaceans
School
Coordinated group of cetaceans (often used in connection with dolphins)
Splash Guard
Elevated area in front of blow holes, of many larger whales which prevents water from pouring in during respiration
Spyhopping
Raising the head vertically out of the water, then sinking below the surface without much splash
Stranding
Act of a cetacean coming onto land, either alive or dead; mass strandings involves a group of 3 or more animals

T

Tailstock
Region from just behind the dorsal fin to the flukes (also called Peduncle)
Tubercles
Circular bumps along the edges of the flippers and dorsal fins of some cetaceans (also the knobs on a hump back whale's head)

W

Wake-Riding
Swimming in the frothy wake of a boat or ship