Cetacea is an infraorder that comprises the 94 species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. It is divided into toothed whales (Odontoceti) and baleen whales (Mysticeti), which diverged from each other in the Eocene some 50 million years ago (mya). Cetaceans are descended from land-dwelling hoofed mammals, and the now extinct archaeocetes represent the several transitional phases from terrestrial to completely aquatic. Cladistic analyses confirm their placement with even-toed ungulates in the order Cetartiodactyla.
Whale populations were drastically reduced in the 20th century from intensive whaling, which led to a moratorium on hunting by the International Whaling Commission in 1982. Smaller cetaceans are at risk of accidentally getting caught by fishing vessels using, namely, seine fishing, drift netting, or gill netting operations.
Conventions
The following is a list of currently existing (or, in the jargon of taxonomy) 'extant' species of the infraorder Cetacea (for extinct cetacean species, see the list of extinct cetaceans). The list is organized taxonomically into parvorders, superfamilies when applicable, families, subfamilies when applicable, genus, and then species. In tabular form, seven descriptors are given for each species: the common name; the scientific name; the IUCN Red List status; a global population estimate; a global map with its range; its weight with an image of its shape, and its size relative to a human; and a photograph.
Conservation status codes listed follow the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 20 January 2015).
Where available, the global population estimate has been listed. When not cited or footnoted differently, these are from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v. 2014.3; data current at 20 January 2015).
Mysticeti: baleen whales
The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales, form the parvorder Mysticeti. Baleen whales are characterized by having baleen plates for filter feeding and two blowholes.
Family Balaenidae: right whales
The family Balaenidae, the right whales, contains two genera and four species. All right whales have no ventral grooves; a distinctive head shape with a strongly arched, narrow rostrum, bowed lower jaw; lower lips that enfold the sides and front of the rostrum; and long, narrow, elastic baleen plates (up to nine times longer than wide) with fine baleen fringes. Genus Balaena Linnaeus, 1758 – one species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List status Global population estimate Range Size PictureBowhead whaleBalaena mysticetusLinnaeus, 175843,000 Genus Eubalaena Gray, 1864 – three species Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List status Global population estimate Range Size PictureNorth Atlantic right whaleEubalaena glacialisMüller, 1776350 North Pacific right whaleEubalaena japonicaLacépède, 1818404–2,108 Southern right whaleEubalaena australisDesmoulins, 182213,600 </onlyinclude>
Family Balaenopteridae: rorquals
Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with eleven species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale. They take their name from a Norwegian word meaning "furrow whale"; all members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel (except the sei whale, which has shorter grooves). They allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding. All rorquals have these unique folds.
Genus Balaenoptera – nine species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureBlue whaleBalaenoptera musculusLinnaeus, 17585,000–15,000 Bryde's whaleBalaenoptera brydeiOlsen, 191390,000–100,000 Eden's whaleBalaenoptera edeniAnderson, 1879UnknownUnknownCommon minke whaleBalaenoptera acutorostrataLacépède, 1804200,000 Rice's whaleBalaenoptera ricei Rosel et al., 202130–100 ~Fin whaleBalaenoptera physalusLinnaeus, 1758100,000 Omura's whaleBalaenoptera omuraiWada et al., 2003UnknownUnknownUnknownSei whaleBalaenoptera borealisLesson, 182880,000 Antarctic minke whaleBalaenoptera bonaerensisBurmeister, 1867515,000International Whaling Commission. (2013). "Report of the Scientific Committee". Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 14 (Supplement): 1–86. Genus Megaptera Gray, 1846 – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeBorowski, 1781135,000 Genus Eschrichtius Gray, 1864 – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureGray whaleEschrichtius robustusLilljeborg, 186121,000
Family Cetotheriidae: pygmy right whale
The pygmy right whale shares several characteristics with the right whales, with the exception of having a dorsal fin. Also, pygmy right whales' heads are no more than one quarter the size of their bodies, whereas the right whales' heads are about one-third the size of their bodies. The pygmy right whale is the only extant member of its family.
Genus Caperea Gray, 1864 – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PicturePygmy right whaleCaperea marginataGray, 1846Unknown
Odontoceti: toothed whales
The toothed whales (parvorder Odontoceti), as the name suggests, are characterized by having teeth (rather than baleen). Toothed whales are active hunters, feeding on fish, squid, and in some cases other marine mammals.
Family Delphinidae: oceanic dolphins
Oceanic dolphins are the members of the family Delphinidae. As the name implies, they tend to be found in the open seas, unlike the river dolphins, although a few species such as the Irrawaddy dolphin are coastal or riverine.
The Delphinidae are characterized by having distinct beaks (unlike the Phocoenidae), two or more fused cervical vertebrae and 20 or more pairs of teeth in their upper jaws. None is more than 4 m long.
Genus Aethalodelphis Galatius et al., 2025– two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureDusky dolphinAethalodelphis obscurusGray, 1828Unknown Pacific white-sided dolphinAethalodelphis obliquidens Gill, 18651,000,000 Genus Cephalorhynchus Gray, 1846 – six species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PicturePeale's dolphinCephalorhynchus australisPeale, 1848Unknown Hourglass dolphinCephalorhynchus crucigerQuoy & Gaimard, 1824140,000 Chilean dolphinCephalorhynchus eutropiaGray, 1846Unknown Commerson's dolphinCephalorhynchus commersoniiLacépède, 180422,000 Heaviside's dolphinCephalorhynchus heavisidiiGray, 1828Unknown Hector's dolphinCephalorhynchus hectoriVan Beneden, 1881 (subspecies Maui dolphin )7,381 (subspecies Maui dolphin 57–75 in 2016) Genus Delphinus – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureCommon dolphinDelphinus delphisLinnaeus, 1758 Unknown Genus Feresa – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PicturePygmy killer whaleFeresa attenuataGray, 1875UnknownGenus Globicephala – two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureLong-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala melasTraill, 1809Unknown(green)Short-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala macrorhynchusGray, 1846Unknown(dark blue)Genus Grampus – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureRisso's dolphinGrampus griseusG. Cuvier, 1812Unknown Genus Lagenodelphis – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureFraser's dolphinLagenodelphis hoseiFraser, 1956Unknown Genus Lagenorhynchus Gray, 1846 – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureWhite-beaked dolphinLagenorhynchus albirostrisGray, 1846100,000 Genus Leucopleurus Gray, 1866 – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureAtlantic white-sided dolphinLeucopleurus acutusGray, 1828200,000–300,000 Genus Lissodelphis – two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureNorthern right whale dolphinLissodelphis borealisPeale, 1848400,000 Southern right whale dolphinLissodelphis peroniiLacépède, 1804Unknown Genus Orcaella Gray, 1866 – two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureAustralian snubfin dolphinOrcaella heinsohniBeasley, Robertson & Arnold, 20059,000–10,000Irrawaddy dolphinOrcaella brevirostrisGray, 186678–102Genus Orcinus – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureOrcaOrcinus orcaLinnaeus, 1758100,000Genus Peponocephala – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureMelon-headed whalePeponocephala electraGray, 1846UnknownGenus Pseudorca – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureFalse killer whalePseudorca crassidensOwen, 1846UnknownGenus Sousa – four species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureAtlantic humpback dolphinSousa teusziiKükenthal, 18921,500 Australian humpback dolphinSousa sahulensisJefferson & Rosenbaum, 201410,000Indian Ocean humpback dolphinSousa plumbeaCuvier, 1829UnknownIndo-Pacific humpback dolphinSousa chinensisOsbeck, 1765Unknown Genus Sotalia – two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureGuiana dolphinSotalia guianensisBénéden, 1864Unknown TucuxiSotalia fluviatilisGervais & Deville, 1853Unknown Genus Stenella Gray, 1866 – five species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureAtlantic spotted dolphinStenella frontalisCuvier, 1829100,000 100 kgClymene dolphinStenella clymeneGray, 1846Unknown Pantropical spotted dolphinStenella attenuataGray, 18463,000,000 Spinner dolphinStenella longirostrisGray, 1828Unknown Striped dolphinStenella coeruleoalbaMeyen, 18332,000,000Genus Steno – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureRough-toothed dolphinSteno bredanensisLesson, 1828150,000 Genus Tursiops – three species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusMontagu, 1821600,000 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphinTursiops aduncusEhrenberg, 1833Unknown Tamanend's bottlenose dolphinTursiops erebennusCope, 1865UnknownUnknown Unknown
Family Iniidae: river dolphins
This family contains one genus with two species.
Genus Inia – two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureAmazon river dolphinInia geoffrensisBlainville, 1817Unknown Araguaian river dolphinInia araguaiaensisHrbek, Da Silva, Dutra, Farias, 2014UnknownAraguaian river dolphin in blue
Family Kogiidae: dwarf and pygmy sperm whales
The dwarf and pygmy sperm whales resemble sperm whales, but are far smaller. They have blunt, squarish heads with narrow, underslung jaws; the flippers are set far forward, close to the head and their dorsal fins are set far back down the body.
Genus Kogia – two species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureDwarf sperm whaleKogia simaOwen, 1866Unknown Pygmy sperm whaleKogia brevicepsBlainville, 1838Unknown
Family Lipotidae: baiji
The family Lipotidae contains only the baiji. DNA evidence suggests it separated from oceanic dolphins about 25 million years ago. The species was declared functionally extinct in 2006 after an expedition to estimate the population found none.
Genus Lipotes – one species Common name Scientific name Status Population Distribution Size PictureBaijiLipotes vexilliferMiller, 19180–13
Family Monodontidae: narwhal and beluga