Although whales are mammals that breathe air, they spend most of their time roaming the depths of the oceans. There, sound travels faster underwater and farther than it does on the world’s surface, at about 1500 meters per second compared to just 340 meters per second in air. So, a whale’s world is replete with sound — it’s a key element to its survival, touching everything from socializing and breeding to navigation and feeding.
But if whales don’t have any sign of external ears, how do whales hear sounds? Scientists use anatomical data, mathematical models, and behavioral experimental data to test echolocation and other hearing methods out in the wild.
All whales rely heavily on sound to understand information about the world around them. Researchers at the Smithsonian Museum created detailed 3-D images of 56 whale fetuses from 15 different species of baleen and toothed whales from the museum’s specimen ...
