Whose work first explained how whales use baleen to filter food?
Quick Answer
Early naturalists described baleen, but the feeding mechanism was clarified through comparative anatomy by scientists such as John Edward Gray in the 19th century. Baleen whales strain tiny prey like krill and plankton from seawater.
The Full Story
Baleen feeding was worked out through 19th-century studies of whale anatomy, including the work of John Edward Gray and other naturalists. Baleen is made of keratin, the same material found in human hair and nails, and hangs from the upper jaw as comb-like plates. Whales such as blue whales and humpbacks use it to filter huge volumes of seawater and trap krill and plankton. This discovery helped separate the feeding strategies of baleen whales from those of toothed whales.
Key Facts
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