Beluga Whale

Delphinapterus leucas (Pallas 1776)

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Delphinapterus leucas (Beluga Whale) is a species of mammals in the family white whales. They are listed as threatened by COSEWIC and in cites appendix ii. They are native to Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. They are carnivores. Individuals are known to live for 480 months and can grow to 5.5 m. Reproduction is viviparous. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on lift powered swimming to move around.

URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/threatened
Definition: may become endangered within the foreseeable future
Source: https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/species

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/CITES_II
Definition: Appendix II lists species that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled. It also includes so-called "look-alike species", i.e. species whose specimens in trade look like those of species listed for conservation reasons. International trade in specimens of Appendix-II species may be authorized by the granting of an export permit or re-export certificate. No import permit is necessary for these species under CITES (although a permit is needed in some countries that have taken stricter measures than CITES requires). Permits or certificates should only be granted if the relevant authorities are satisfied that certain conditions are met, above all that trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild. (See Article IV of the Convention)
Source: https://www.speciesplus.net/#/taxon_concepts/4206/legal

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1906

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1903

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q81875
Definition: organism that eats mostly or exclusively animal tissue

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URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/Viviparous
Definition: 1) Producing live offspring from within the body of the parent (Lincoln et al., 1998). 2) Development of an embryo within the body of the parent, in part, resources passing directly from parent to embryo (Barnes et al., 2006).
Attribution: Lincoln, R., Boxshall, G. & Clark, P., 1998. A dictionary of ecology, evolution and systematics (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University of Press. Barnes R.S.K., Calow P., Olive P.J.W., Golding, D.W, and Spicer, J.I. 2006. The invertebrates: a new synthesis, Oxford: Blackwell Science Ltd. http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:Viviparous

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.

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EOL has data for 68 attributes, including:

body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet breadth
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/DietBreadth
- Definition: Number of dietary categories eaten by an organism.
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2
diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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fish
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q152
- Definition: vertebrate animal that lives in water and (typically) has gills
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ecomorphological guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/EcomorphologicalGuild
- Definition: organisms that share certain morphological traits due to adaptation to similar environments and ecological roles
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nectonic
- URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/Nekton
- Definition: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
- Attribution: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:Nekton
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first appearance
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/FossilFirst
- Definition: The first appearance of this taxon in the fossil record.
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15.97 million years ago
geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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China
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/1814991
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habitat breadth
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/HabitatBreadth
- Definition: Number of habitat layers used by an organism
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1
inter-birth interval
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/InterBirthInterval
- Definition: The length of time between successive births of a female.
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1004 days
litters per year
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/LittersPerYear
- Definition: Number of litters per female per year
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0.33
mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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not monogamous
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/notMonogamous
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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Arctic Ocean
- URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1906
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prenatal development duration
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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416 days

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Beluga whale. View this species on GBIF

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