Mouth

We May Finally Know Why Whales Don’t Drown When They Gulp Down Krill

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Baleen whales are heavy drinkers. In just ten seconds, these giant mammals can down over five hundred bathtubs of ocean water, filtering out roughly 10 kilograms of krill in a single swig.   All they have to do is open their mouths and lunge forward at roughly 10 kilometers an hour (6 miles per hour). The … Read more

Babies can tell who’s closely related from whether they share saliva

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Infants and toddlers seem to expect people who exchange saliva, for example by taking bites of the same food, to be close enough to comfort each other if one gets upset Mind 20 January 2022 By Alice Klein Sharing a spoon may be a sign of a close bond kate_sept2004/Getty Images Babies and toddlers can … Read more

To See Where a Whale Has Been, Look in Its Mouth

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When most large whales—such as blue, minke and humpback whales—chow down, they don’t chew their food with teeth. Instead they employ hundreds of baleen plates that hang from their upper jaw like prickly curtains to filter minuscule prey from the ocean. First the whales gulp vast amounts of seawater into their massive maw. Then, like … Read more