Baleen is a filter-feeding system inside the mouths of baleen whales. To use baleen, the whale first opens its mouth underwater to take in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by … See more

People formerly used baleen (usually referred to as "whalebone") for making numerous items where flexibility and strength were required, including baskets, backscratchers See more

• St. Aubin, D. J.; Stinson, R. H.; Geraci, J. R. (1984). "Aspects of the structure and composition of baleen, and some effects of exposure to … See more

The word "baleen" derives from the Latin bālaena, related to the Greek phalaina – both of which mean "whale". See more

The oldest true fossils of baleen are only 15 million years old because baleen rarely fossilizes, but scientists believe it originated … See more

A whale's baleen plates play the most important role in its filter-feeding process. To feed, a baleen whale opens its mouth widely and scoops in dense shoals of prey (such as krill, copepods, small fish, and sometimes birds that happen to be near the shoals), together … See more

• John Henry Devereux, a South Carolina architect who used whale jaw bones to adorn the largest mansion on Sullivan's Island See more