Sealife guideOcean giants: exploring the sea mammalsMarine vertebrates

Last updated on 08/13/2025 at 12:24 AM

Marine mammals include notably the cetaceans such as whales, dolphins, orcas and sperm whales, as well as pinnipeds like seals, walruses, sea lions and finally the sirenia which include manatees.

Marine mammals are characterized by a respiratory system made up of lungs. They therefore need to regularly surface to breathe.

Cetaceans

Cetaceans comprise more than 80 different species and are divided into two subgroups: the baleen whales, also called Mysticetes and the toothed whales, also called Odontocetes.

Baleen whales

Anatomy of baleen whales

Toothed Whales

There are about thirty species of dolphins, all grouped within the family of Delphinidae.

Common bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus)

Short-beaked common dolphin
(Delphinus delphis)

Spinner dolphin
(Stenella longirostris)

White headed dolphin
(Cephalorhynchus hectori)

Pinnipeds

The term « pinniped » may not be very familiar at first, but in fact, pinnipeds include three major families of marine animals you know well: sea lions, seals and walruses.

Antarctic fur seal
(Arctocephalus gazella)

Australian sea lion
(Neophoca cinerea)

Harbor seal
(Phoca vitulina)

These families also include other marine animals whose distinctive traits are sometimes hard to grasp, such as sea lions and elephant seals.

Discover sea mammals

Amazon river dolphin
(Inia geoffrensis)

Antarctic fur seal
(Arctocephalus gazella)

Australian sea lion
(Neophoca cinerea)

Beluga
(Delphinapterus leucas)

Common bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus)

Fin whale
(Balaenoptera physalus)

Southern right whale
(Eubalaena australis)

Spinner dolphin
(Stenella longirostris)

Our latestUpdates

Monday, August 11th 2025

The banded sea snake

The coloration of the banded sea snake, also known as the yellow-lipped sea snake, is distinctive with alternating black bands and bluish to grayish areas. The tip of its head, limited to its upper lip, is yellowish.

Thursday, August 7th 2025

The princess parrotfish

The princess parrotfish stands out with a coloration fit for a princess, featuring a dominant bluish hue, with yellow along the central part of its body near the pelvic fins, transitioning into green. Two blue bands run across its head on either side of its eyes.

Monday, August 4th 2025

The batwing coral crab

Discover the batwing coral crab, an iconic species of Caribbean coral reefs, recognizable by its smooth red shell speckled with white and cream.

Photo of the Day

Flabelline mauve
(Flabellina affinis)