http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9265000/9265623.stm
Now, from my most favorite website in the world: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
"The Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales (called Mysticeti).[3] At over 33 metres (108 ft) in length and 180 metric tons (200 short tons)[4] [MY NOTE: How about LONG tons? :) ] or more in weight, it is the largest animal ever known to have existed.[5]"
The largest animal? Says who?
The fossil record, that's who!
We never found direct evidence (or circumstantial) to believe otherwise.
DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME: going the distance with a gorilla
"There have been at least 11 documented cases of blue/fin [whale] hybrid adults in the wild. Arnason and Gullberg describe the genetic distance between a blue and a fin as about the same as that between a human and a gorilla.[14] Researchers working off of Fiji believe they photographed a hybrid humpback/blue whale.[15]"
A 19 Foot Long Blue Whale Skull at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
"A blue whale's tongue weighs around 2.7 metric tons (3.0 short tons)[25] and, when fully expanded, its mouth is large enough to hold up to 90 metric tons (99 short tons) of food and water.[7]
The tongue is heavier than a whole average elephant.
When a pod of orcas manage to hunt a blue whale, the tongue is the first thing devoured by the Orca (Orcinus orca), misnomed as Killer Whale (it's just the largest of the dolphins species).
Despite the size of its mouth, the dimensions of its throat are such that a blue whale cannot swallow an object wider than a beach ball.[26]
During the first seven months of its life, a blue whale calf drinks approximately 400 litres (100 U.S. gallons) of milk every day. Blue whale calves gain weight quickly, as much as 90 kilograms (200 lb) every 24 hours.
Even at birth, they weigh up to 2,700 kilograms (6,000 lb)—the same as a fully grown hippopotamus.[3]"
What's wrong with this MC? The postcard is upside-down, based on how the mouth opens, the eye placement and the striations for expansions (see the stamp for reference). Whoever made this MC should have turned the postcard (correctly printed with the writing on the back).
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I knew whales were big, but I didn't realize they were that big.
ReplyDeleteWhales ... one of my favorite critters. Interesting the card upside down. Happy PFF
ReplyDeleteFascinating, Dorin. And a large mouthful! Truthfully, these are all beautiful cards.
ReplyDeleteHuge post. Blue whales remind me of Pinocchio. You can imagine a small boat in its mouth. Happy PFF!
ReplyDelete