In order to obtain their food toothed whales will often hunt in large groups or pods using vocal sounds, visual cues and echolocation to organize their attacks.įor instance one groups of toothed whales may surround their prey and herd it into a small ball while another whale may swim through the ball and pick off the helpless fish.Īnother method that is used by toothed whales is to force their prey into a corner or near shallow waters where it cannot dive or escape which makes capturing their prey much easier. Some whales (such as the narwhal) have only one or two teeth while others species (such as the short-beaked common dolphin) have as many as 240 teeth or more.Īnd other species of toothed whale (such as the sperm whale) may only have rows of teeth on their lower jaw and none on their upper jaw. The number of teeth a toothed whale has can vary greatly depending on the species. Some toothed whales use their teeth only to bite and grab their prey so that it can’t escape, but will end up swallowing their prey whole, while other toothed whale species appear to have little or no use for their teeth other than as a way to show dominance towards other whales, especially during mating periods. While all toothed whales are born with teeth not all species are known to chew their food. Toothed whales as the name suggest have teeth which they use to attack, capture and in some cases chew or tear apart their prey so that they can swallow and better digest their food.Īside from whales all species of dolphin and porpoise also belong to the toothed whale suborder and also possess teeth. Believe it or not, some species of whale do in fact have teeth.Īll whales are actually broken down into two categories or suborders which are known as the toothed whale and baleen whale suborders.
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