Concept

Cetacean surfacing behaviour

Cetacean surfacing behaviour is a grouping of movement types that cetaceans make at the water's surface in addition to breathing. Cetaceans have developed and use surface behaviours for many functions such as display, feeding and communication. All regularly observed members of the order Cetacea, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, show a range of surfacing behaviours. Cetacea is usually split into two suborders, Odontoceti and Mysticeti, based on the presence of teeth or baleen plates in adults respectively. However, when considering behaviour, Cetacea can be split into whales (cetaceans more than 10 m long such as sperm and most baleen whales) and dolphins and porpoises (all Odontocetes less than 10 m long including orca) as many behaviours are correlated with size. Although some behaviours such as spyhopping, logging and lobtailing occur in both groups, others such as bow riding or peduncle throws are exclusive to one or the other. It is these energetic behaviours that humans observe most frequently, which has resulted in a large amount of scientific literature on the subject and a popular tourism industry. File:HIHWNMS - spinner dolphin (33304904555).jpg|[[Spinner dolphin]] spinner-breaching off [[Hawaii]] File:Anim1091 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg|Humpback whale spinner-breaching File:Bowhead-1 Kate Stafford edit (16272151841).jpg|[[Bowhead whale]] side-head-slapping File:Eschrichtius robustus 01.jpg|[[Gray whale]] head-slapping File:Baleia de Bryde.jpg|[[Bryde's whale]] head-slapping File:Uma Baleia Anã nos Açores..jpg|[[Northern minke whale]] breaching off [[Azores]] File:Physeter macrocephalus jumping.jpg|[[Sperm whale]] breaching off Azores File:Dwarf sperm whale (NOAA Pitman).jpg|[[Dwarf sperm whale]] breaching File:Sowerby's beaked whale.jpg|[[Sowerby's beaked whale]] breaching File:Arnoux's beaked whale in Antarctica.jpg|[[Arnoux's beaked whale]] breaching in [[Antarctica]] File:Killerwhales jumping.jpg|[[Orca]]s double-breaching off the south side of [[Unimak Island]], [[Alaska]] File:Anim1772 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.

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