Cetacean

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Cetaceans are marine mammals belonging to the infraorder Cetacea (), a secondarily aquatic clade under the order Artiodactyla that include whales, dolphins, porpoises and extinct groups such as Basilosaurus. Most cetaceans live in marine environments, particularly the pelagic zone, but some reside solely in brackish or fresh water. Having a cosmopolitan distribution, they can be found in some rivers and all of Earth's oceans. Many species migrate seasonally over vast ranges for food advantages. Key characteristics of cetaceans are their fully aquatic life cycle, streamlined, fish-like body shape, the need to periodically surface and breathe air, and exclusively carnivorous diet. Some cetaceans — the toothed whales — are capable of echolocation. As nektonic animals, cetaceans propel themselves through the water with powerful up-and-down movements of their tails, which have evolved into in a horizontal paddle-like fluke. Their hindlimbs have disappeared with only some vestigial skeleton of...

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