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83-613: The term may also informally refer to Russian Far East . Far Eastern Avenue in St. Petersburg is named after the Far Eastern Krai. This is also partly due to the fact that the street is located in the eastern part of the city. After the abolition of the buffer state of Far Eastern Republic in November 15, 1922, the Far Eastern Oblast was established with capital Chita which included

166-408: A tapetum lucidum ; these adaptations allow for large amounts of light to pass through the eye and, therefore, a very clear image of the surrounding area. They also have glands on the eyelids and outer corneal layer that act as protection for the cornea. The olfactory lobes are absent in toothed whales, suggesting that they have no sense of smell. Some whales, such as the bowhead whale , possess

249-485: A vomeronasal organ , which does mean that they can "sniff out" krill. Whales are not thought to have a good sense of taste, as their taste buds are atrophied or missing altogether. However, some toothed whales have preferences between different kinds of fish, indicating some sort of attachment to taste. The presence of the Jacobson's organ indicates that whales can smell food once inside their mouth, which might be similar to

332-518: A Japanese victory following the fall of Port Arthur and the failed Russian invasion of Japan through the Korean Peninsula and Northeast China ; also, Japan had threatened to invade Primorsky Krai via Korea. The warring parties signed the Treaty of Portsmouth on 5 September 1905, and both Japan and Russia agreed to evacuate Manchuria and to return its sovereignty to China, but Japan was allowed to lease

415-733: A different reason for it, for example, the killer whale was named "Ballena asesina" 'killer whale' by Spanish sailors. The term "Great Whales" covers those currently regulated by the International Whaling Commission : the Odontoceti family Physeteridae (sperm whales); and the Mysticeti families Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales), Eschrichtiidae (grey whales), and some of the Balaenopteridae (Minke, Bryde's, Sei, Blue and Fin; not Eden's and Omura's whales). The whales are part of

498-611: A fear of an invasion of Korea and of the ousting of Japanese troops by Korean guerrillas. Between 1937 and 1939, the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin deported over 200,000 Koreans to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan , fearing that the Koreans might act as spies for Japan. Many Koreans died on the way in cattle trains due to starvation, illness, or freezing conditions. Soviet authorities purged and executed many community leaders; Koryo-saram were not allowed to travel outside of Central Asia for

581-570: A form of tourism around the world. The word "whale" comes from the Old English hwæl , from Proto-Germanic *hwalaz , from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kwal-o- , meaning "large sea fish". The Proto-Germanic *hwalaz is also the source of Old Saxon hwal , Old Norse hvalr , hvalfiskr , Swedish val , Middle Dutch wal , walvisc , Dutch walvis , Old High German wal , and German Wal . Other archaic English forms include wal, wale, whal, whalle, whaille, wheal , etc. The term "whale"

664-619: A means of distracting its populace from government repression and of rallying patriotism in the aftermath of several general strikes. Japan issued a declaration of war on 8 February 1904. Three hours before Japan's declaration of war was received by the Russian government, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the Russian 1st Pacific Squadron at Port Arthur. Eight days later Russia declared war on Japan. The war ended in September 1905 with

747-517: A number of large islands, including Wrangel Island , the northern part of Sakhalin , and two large archipelagos: the Commander Islands and Shantar Islands . The Far Eastern Krai had a length of 28 degrees from south to north (from 42° to 70° N) and 83 degrees from west to east (from 108° E. D. to 169° W. D.). Geographically, its borders were based on the coasts of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, on

830-420: A small bulge sitting on top of its skull, whereas a sperm whale's head is filled up mainly with the melon. The whale eye is relatively small for its size, yet they do retain a good degree of eyesight. As well as this, the eyes of a whale are placed on the sides of its head, so their vision consists of two fields, rather than a binocular view like humans have. When belugas surface, their lens and cornea correct

913-456: A strong desire on behalf of the whales to communicate with humans, as whales have a very different vocal mechanism, so imitating human speech likely takes considerable effort. Whales emit two distinct kinds of acoustic signals, which are called whistles and clicks: Clicks are quick broadband burst pulses, used for sonar , although some lower-frequency broadband vocalizations may serve a non-echolocative purpose such as communication; for example,

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996-429: A two- to three-chambered stomach that is similar in structure to those of terrestrial carnivores. Mysticetes contain a proventriculus as an extension of the oesophagus ; this contains stones that grind up food. They also have fundic and pyloric chambers. Whales have two flippers on the front, and a tail fin. These flippers contain four digits. Although whales do not possess fully developed hind limbs, some, such as

1079-496: A widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals . As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea , i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and porpoises . Dolphins and porpoises may be considered whales from a formal, cladistic perspective. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla , which consists of even-toed ungulates . Their closest non-cetacean living relatives are

1162-699: Is a region in North Asia . It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent , and is coextensive with the Far Eastern Federal District , which encompasses the area between Lake Baikal and the Pacific Ocean . The area's largest city is Khabarovsk , followed by Vladivostok . The region shares land borders with the countries of Mongolia , China , and North Korea to its south, as well as maritime boundaries with Japan to its southeast, and with

1245-515: Is characterized by the presence of baleen, a sieve-like structure in the upper jaw made of keratin , which it uses to filter plankton , among others, from the water. Odontocetes (toothed whales) are characterized by bearing sharp teeth for hunting, as opposed to their counterparts' baleen. Cetaceans and artiodactyls now are classified under the order Cetartiodactyla , often still referred to as Artiodactyla, which includes both whales and hippopotamuses . The hippopotamus and pygmy hippopotamus are

1328-437: Is helpful for a 100-ton whale), protection to some extent as predators would have a hard time getting through a thick layer of fat, and energy for fasting when migrating to the equator; the primary usage for blubber is insulation from the harsh climate. It can constitute as much as 50% of a whale's body weight. Calves are born with only a thin layer of blubber, but some species compensate for this with thick lanugos. Whales have

1411-406: Is home to elongated spindle neurons that, prior to 2007, were known only in hominids. In humans, these cells are involved in social conduct, emotions, judgement, and theory of mind. Whale spindle neurons are found in areas of the brain that are homologous to where they are found in humans, suggesting that they perform a similar function. Brain size was previously considered a major indicator of

1494-442: Is in their feeding adaptations and subsequent behaviour. Balaenopterids are the rorquals. These animals, along with the cetotheriids, rely on their throat pleats to gulp large amounts of water while feeding. The throat pleats extend from the mouth to the navel and allow the mouth to expand to a large volume for more efficient capture of the small animals they feed on. Balaenopterids consist of two genera and eight species. Balaenids are

1577-633: Is known in English as the Far East is usually referred to as the Asia-Pacific Region ( Азиатско-тихоокеанский регион , Aziatsko-tiho-okeanskiy region , abbreviated АТР (ATR)), or East Asia ( Восточная Азия , Vostochnaya Aziya ), depending on the context. Russians reached the Pacific coast in 1647 with the establishment of Okhotsk , and the Russian Empire consolidated its control over

1660-438: Is sometimes used interchangeably with dolphins and porpoises , acting as a synonym for Cetacea . Six species of dolphins have the word "whale" in their name, collectively known as blackfish: the orca , or killer whale, the melon-headed whale , the pygmy killer whale , the false killer whale , and the two species of pilot whales , all of which are classified under the family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins). Each species has

1743-442: Is taken in and expelled. They are warm-blooded , and have a layer of fat, or blubber , under the skin. With streamlined fusiform bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers, whales can travel at speeds of up to 20 knots , though they are not as flexible or agile as seals . Whales produce a great variety of vocalizations, notably the extended songs of the humpback whale . Although whales are widespread, most species prefer

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1826-401: Is then expelled through the baleen, leaving their prey trapped inside. This is an efficient method of hunting, in which the whale has no major competitors. Odontocetes are known as toothed whales; they have teeth and only one blowhole. They rely on their well-developed sonar to find their way in the water. Toothed whales send out ultrasonic clicks using the melon . Sound waves travel through

1909-562: The Indohyus , an extinct chevrotain -like ungulate, from which they split approximately 48 million years ago. Primitive cetaceans, or archaeocetes , first took to the sea approximately 49 million years ago and became fully aquatic 5–10 million years later. What defines an archaeocete is the presence of anatomical features exclusive to cetaceans, alongside other primitive features not found in modern cetaceans, such as visible legs or asymmetrical teeth. Their features became adapted for living in

1992-832: The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , the Jewish Autonomous Oblast , Kamchatka Oblast with the Koryak Autonomous Okrug , Khabarovsk Krai , Magadan Oblast , Primorsky Krai , the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic , and Sakhalin Oblast . In November 2018 Zabaykalsky Krai and the Republic of Buryatia were added; they had previously formed part of the Siberian Federal District . Since 2000, Russians have increasingly used

2075-510: The Liaodong Peninsula (containing Port Arthur and Talien , aka Kwantung Leased Territory ), and the Russian rail system in southern Manchuria with its access to strategic resources. Japan also received the southern half of the island of Sakhalin from Russia. In 1907 Japan forced Russia to confiscate land from Korean settlers (who formed the majority of Primorsky Krai's population) due to

2158-449: The M58 highway was completed in 2010. Uniquely for Russia, most cars have right-hand drive (73% of cars in the region), though they are still driven on the right-hand side of the road. Railways are better developed. The Trans-Siberian Railway and Baikal–Amur Mainline (since 1984) provide a connection with Siberia (and the rest of the country). The Amur–Yakutsk Mainline is aimed to link

2241-468: The Monodontidae (belugas and narwhals), Physeteridae (the sperm whale ), Kogiidae (the dwarf and pygmy sperm whale), and Ziphiidae (the beaked whales), as well as the six families of dolphins and porpoises which are not considered whales in the informal sense. Whales are fully aquatic, open-ocean animals: they can feed, mate, give birth, suckle and raise their young at sea. Whales range in size from

2324-740: The United States along the Bering Strait to its northeast. Although the Russian Far East is often considered as a part of Siberia abroad, it has been historically categorized separately from Siberia in Russian regional schemes (and previously during the Soviet era when it was called the Soviet Far East ). In Russia, the region is usually referred to as simply the Far East (Russian: Дальний Восток , romanized:  Dal'niy Vostok ). What

2407-541: The beluga and the narwhal . They both reside in the frigid arctic and both have large amounts of blubber. Belugas, being white, hunt in large pods near the surface and around pack ice, their coloration acting as camouflage. Narwhals, being black, hunt in large pods in the aphotic zone, but their underbelly still remains white to remain camouflaged when something is looking directly up or down at them. They have no dorsal fin to prevent collision with pack ice. Physeterids and Kogiids consist of sperm whales . Sperm whales consist

2490-433: The blowhole , forming an upward, steamy spout, followed by inhaling fresh air into the lungs; a humpback whale's lungs can hold about 5,000 litres (1,300 US gal) of air. Spout shapes differ among species, which facilitates identification. All whales have a thick layer of blubber . In species that live near the poles, the blubber can be as thick as 11 inches (28 cm). This blubber can help with buoyancy (which

2573-488: The hippopotamuses , from which they and other cetaceans diverged about 54 million years ago. The two parvorders of whales, baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti), are thought to have had their last common ancestor around 34 million years ago. Mysticetes include four extant (living) families : Balaenopteridae (the rorquals), Balaenidae (right whales), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the grey whale). Odontocetes include

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2656-405: The marine environment . Major anatomical changes included their hearing set-up that channeled vibrations from the jaw to the earbone ( Ambulocetus 49 mya ), a streamlined body and the growth of flukes on the tail ( Protocetus 43 mya), the migration of the nostrils toward the top of the cranium ( blowholes ), and the modification of the forelimbs into flippers ( Basilosaurus 35 mya), and

2739-417: The photic zone . Ziphiids consist of 22 species of beaked whale . These vary from size, to coloration, to distribution, but they all share a similar hunting style. They use a suction technique, aided by a pair of grooves on the underside of their head, not unlike the throat pleats on the rorquals , to feed. As a formal clade (a group which does not exclude any descendant taxon ), odontocetes also contains

2822-424: The porpoises (Phocoenidae) and four or five living families of dolphins: oceanic dolphins ( Delphinidae ), South Asian river dolphins ( Platanistidae ), the possibly extinct Yangtze River dolphin ( Lipotidae ), South American river dolphins ( Iniidae ), and La Plata dolphin (Pontoporiidae). Whales are descendants of land-dwelling mammals of the artiodactyl order (even-toed ungulates). They are related to

2905-484: The 2.6 metres (8.5 ft) and 135 kilograms (298 lb) dwarf sperm whale to the 29.9 metres (98 ft) and 190 tonnes (210 short tons) blue whale , which is the largest known animal that has ever lived. The sperm whale is the largest toothed predator on Earth. Several whale species exhibit sexual dimorphism , in that the females are larger than males. Baleen whales have no teeth; instead, they have plates of baleen, fringe-like structures that enable them to expel

2988-420: The 2.6-metre (8.5 ft) and 135-kilogram (298 lb) dwarf sperm whale to the 34-metre (112 ft) and 190-metric-ton (210-short-ton) blue whale. Overall, they tend to dwarf other cetartiodactyls; the blue whale is the largest creature on Earth. Several species have female-biased sexual dimorphism, with the females being larger than the males. One exception is with the sperm whale, which has males larger than

3071-550: The Inuit and the coastal peoples of Vietnam and Ghana, who sometimes hold whale funerals. Whales occasionally feature in literature and film. A famous example is the great white whale in Herman Melville 's novel Moby-Dick . Small whales, such as belugas , are sometimes kept in captivity and trained to perform tricks, but breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. Whale watching has become

3154-627: The Japanese and the Soviets frequently happened on the border of Manchuria between 1938 and 1945. The first confrontation occurred in Primorsky Krai, the Battle of Lake Khasan (July–August 1938) involved an attempted military incursion of Japanese-controlled Manchukuo into territory claimed by the Soviet Union. This incursion was founded in the beliefs of the Japanese side that the Soviet Union had misinterpreted

3237-463: The Russian Far East in the 19th century, after the annexation of part of Chinese Manchuria (1858-1860). Primorskaya Oblast was established as a separate administrative division of the Russian Empire in 1856, with its administrative center at Khabarovsk . Several entities with the name "Far East" existed in the first half of the 20th century, all with rather different boundaries: Until 2000

3320-515: The Russian Far East lacked officially-defined boundaries. A single term "Siberia and the Far East" ( Сибирь и Дальний Восток ) often referred to Russia's regions east of the Urals without drawing a clear distinction between "Siberia" and "the Far East". In 2000 Russia's federal subjects were grouped into larger federal districts , one of which, the Far Eastern Federal District , comprised Amur Oblast ,

3403-442: The Russian Far East one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world. The population of the Russian Far East has been rapidly declining since the dissolution of the Soviet Union (even more than for Russia in general), dropping by 14% in the last fifteen years. The Russian government had been discussing a range of re-population programs to avoid the forecast drop to 4.5 million people by 2015, hoping to attract in particular

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3486-461: The Soviet Union and Japan regarded the Primorsky Krai as a strategic location in World War II, and clashes over the territory were common. The Soviets and the other Allies considered it a key location for the planned invasion of Japan through Korea; Japan viewed it as a key location to begin a mass invasion of Eastern Russia . The Primorsky Krai served as the Soviet Union's Pacific headquarters in

3569-693: The Soviet Union. Vladivostok was the site of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1974. At the time, the Soviet Union and the United States decided quantitative limits on various nuclear weapons systems and banned the construction of new land-based ICBM launchers. Vladivostok and other cities in Primorsky Krai soon became closed cities because of the bases of the Soviet Pacific Fleet . Incursions of American reconnaissance aircraft from Alaska sometimes happened. Concerns of

3652-612: The Soviet military caused the infamous Korean Air Lines Flight 007 incident in 1983. In 2016, President Vladimir Putin proposed the Russian Homestead Act to populate the Russian Far East. According to the 2021 Census , the Far Eastern Federal District had a population of 7.98 million. Most of it is concentrated in the southern parts. Given the vast territory of the Russian Far East, 6.3 million people translates to slightly less than one person per square kilometer, making

3735-447: The baleen whales (Mysticetes) and the toothed whales (Odontocetes). Whales have torpedo-shaped bodies with non-flexible necks, limbs modified into flippers, non-existent external ear flaps, a large tail fin, and flat heads (with the exception of monodontids and ziphiids ). Whale skulls have small eye orbits, long snouts (with the exception of monodontids and ziphiids) and eyes placed on the sides of its head. Whales range in size from

3818-667: The capital was changed from Chita to Khabarovsk . The Far Eastern Krai was formed by the decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on January 4, 1926 on the site of the abolished Far Eastern Krai On October 21, 1938, as part of the Stalin-era policy of "unbundling", the Far Eastern Krai was divided into the Khabarovsk Krai and Primorsky Krai . From the north, the Far Eastern Territory

3901-467: The city of Yakutsk to the Russian railway network. Passenger trains connect to Nizhny Bestyakh as of 2013. As in nearby Siberia, for many remote localities, aviation is the main mode of transportation to/from civilisation, but the infrastructure is often poor. Maritime transport is important for delivering supplies to localities near the Pacific and Arctic coasts, and for shipping exports, especially oil, gas and ores. Whales Whales are

3984-529: The closest living relatives of cetaceans are the hippopotamuses ; these share a semi-aquatic ancestor that branched off from other artiodactyls some 60 mya. Around 40 mya, a common ancestor between the two branched off into cetacea and anthracotheres ; nearly all anthracotheres became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene 2.5 mya, eventually leaving only one surviving lineage – the hippopotamus. Whales split into two separate parvorders around 34 mya –

4067-690: The colder waters of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and migrate to the equator to give birth. Species such as humpbacks and blue whales are capable of travelling thousands of miles without feeding. Males typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer; females bear all the responsibility for raising them. Mothers in some species fast and nurse their young for one to two years. Once relentlessly hunted for their products, whales are now protected by international law. The North Atlantic right whales nearly became extinct in

4150-404: The concentration of myoglobin than haemoglobin. Before going on long dives, many whales exhibit a behaviour known as sounding; they stay close to the surface for a series of short, shallow dives while building their oxygen reserves, and then make a sounding dive. The whale ear has specific adaptations to the marine environment. In humans, the middle ear works as an impedance equalizer between

4233-573: The demarcation of the boundary based on the 1860 Treaty of Peking between Imperial Russia and Manchu China . Primorsky Krai was always threatened by a Japanese invasion despite the fact that most of the remaining clashes occurred in Manchukuo. The clashes ended shortly before and after the conclusion of World War II (see Soviet–Japanese War ) when a war-weakened Japan found its territories of Manchukuo, Mengjiang , Korea , and South Sakhalin invaded by Soviet and Mongolian troops (August 1945). Both

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4316-553: The females. Odontocetes, such as the sperm whale, possess teeth with cementum cells overlying dentine cells. Unlike human teeth, which are composed mostly of enamel on the portion of the tooth outside of the gum, whale teeth have cementum outside the gum. Only in larger whales, where the cementum is worn away on the tip of the tooth, does enamel show. Mysticetes have large whalebone , as opposed to teeth, made of keratin. Mysticetes have two blowholes, whereas Odontocetes contain only one. Breathing involves expelling stale air from

4399-524: The huge mouthfuls of water they take in while retaining the krill and plankton they feed on. Because their heads are enormous—making up as much as 40% of their total body mass—and they have throat pleats that enable them to expand their mouths, they are able to take huge quantities of water into their mouth at a time. Baleen whales also have a well-developed sense of smell. Toothed whales, in contrast, have conical teeth adapted to catching fish or squid . They also have such keen hearing—whether above or below

4482-567: The intelligence of an animal. Since most of the brain is used for maintaining bodily functions, greater ratios of brain-to-body mass may increase the amount of brain mass available for more complex cognitive tasks. Allometric analysis indicates that mammalian brain size scales at approximately the ⅔ or ¾ exponent of the body mass. Comparison of a particular animal's brain size with the expected brain size based on such allometric analysis provides an encephalisation quotient that can be used as another indication of animal intelligence. Sperm whales have

4565-619: The island landscapes of Sakhalin, Kamchatka and the Commander Islands, and from north to south the ice of Wrangel Island, tundra , taiga and southern landscapes of what is now Primorsky Krai were successively replaced. The Far Eastern Krai had a very diverse ecosystem, including walruses , seals , reindeer , moose , camels , Siberian tigers , leopards , forest cats , river turtles , and whales . Russian Far East The Russian Far East (Russian: Дальний Восток России , IPA: [ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ] )

4648-842: The lands of the Far Eastern Republic (as a territory ruled of Far Eastern revolutionary committee ( Dal'revcom ). It also had right of way by the Chinese Eastern Railway . In May 1923, the Buryat-Mongol Autonomous Oblast was separated from the Far Eastern Oblast. On May 30, 1923, by merging with the Mongolian-Buryat Autonomous Oblast, the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. In 1924,

4731-946: The largely terrestrial mammalian clade Laurasiatheria . Whales do not form a clade or order ; the infraorder Cetacea includes dolphins and porpoises , which are not considered whales in the informal sense. The phylogenetic tree shows the relationships of whales and other mammals, with whale groups marked in green. ( carnivorans and allies) [REDACTED] ( horses , rhinos , tapirs ) [REDACTED] ( camels, llamas ) [REDACTED] ( pigs, hogs, peccaries ) [REDACTED] ( cattle , sheep , antelopes ) [REDACTED]  ( hippos ) [REDACTED] ( † Ambulocetus , † Protocetus , † Basilosaurus ) ( right whales , grey whales , rorquals ) ( dolphins , porpoises , beluga whales , narwhals ) ( river dolphins ) ( sperm whales ) ( beaked whales ) Cetaceans are divided into two parvorders. The larger parvorder, Mysticeti (baleen whales),

4814-399: The largest and smallest odontocetes, and spend a large portion of their life hunting squid. P. macrocephalus spends most of its life in search of squid in the depths; these animals do not require any degree of light at all, in fact, blind sperm whales have been caught in perfect health. The behaviour of Kogiids remains largely unknown, but, due to their small lungs, they are thought to hunt in

4897-517: The nearsightedness that results from the refraction of light; they contain both rod and cone cells, meaning they can see in both dim and bright light, but they have far more rod cells than they do cone cells. Whales do, however, lack short wavelength sensitive visual pigments in their cone cells indicating a more limited capacity for colour vision than most mammals. Most whales have slightly flattened eyeballs, enlarged pupils (which shrink as they surface to prevent damage), slightly flattened corneas and

4980-440: The neck vertebrae, while increasing stability when swimming at high speeds, decreases flexibility; whales are unable to turn their heads. When swimming, whales rely on their tail fin to propel them through the water. Flipper movement is continuous. Whales swim by moving their tail fin and lower body up and down, propelling themselves through vertical movement, while their flippers are mainly used for steering. Some species log out of

5063-589: The next 15 years. Koreans were also not allowed to use the Korean language and its use began to become lost with the involvement of the Koryo-mar dialect and the use of Russian. Development of numerous remote locations in the Soviet Far East relied on Gulag labour camps during Stalin's rule, especially in the region's northern half. After the death of Stalin in 1953 the large-scale use of forced labour waned and

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5146-608: The northeast with the Alaska Territory through the sea border in the Bering Strait . In the south, along the Amur River and in what is now western Primorsky Krai , was the border with the Republic of China and, since 1931, the state of Manchukuo. The largest peninsula in the krai was the Kamchatka Peninsula , and also included the much smaller Chukchi Peninsula . The territory of the Far Eastern Territory also included

5229-517: The one hand, and the watersheds of the rivers flowing into them, on the other. The geographic unity of the region was ensured by its maritime location, and the whole of its main territory was closely connected, first of all, with the Pacific Ocean. The scale of the Far Eastern Krai was such that from west to east there was a transition from the continental landscape of dry steppes of the Transbaikal to

5312-417: The outside air's low impedance and the cochlear fluid's high impedance. In whales, and other marine mammals, there is no great difference between the outer and inner environments. Instead of sound passing through the outer ear to the middle ear, whales receive sound through the throat, from which it passes through a low-impedance fat-filled cavity to the inner ear. The whale ear is acoustically isolated from

5395-440: The pulsed calls of belugas. Pulses in a click train are emitted at intervals of ≈35–50 milliseconds , and in general these inter-click intervals are slightly greater than the round-trip time of sound to the target. Whistles are narrow-band frequency modulated (FM) signals, used for communicative purposes, such as contact calls. Whales are known to teach, learn, cooperate, scheme, and grieve. The neocortex of many species of whale

5478-445: The remaining Russian population of the near abroad but eventually agreeing on a program to resettle Ukrainian Illegal immigrants. Ethnic Russians and Ukrainians make up the majority of the population. 75% of the population is urban. The largest cities are: The original population groups of the Russian Far East include (grouped by language group): The region was not connected with the rest of Russia via domestic highways until

5561-464: The right whales. These animals have very large heads, which can make up as much as 40% of their body mass, and much of the head is the mouth. This allows them to take in large amounts of water into their mouths, letting them feed more effectively. Eschrichtiids have one living member: the grey whale. They are bottom feeders, mainly eating crustaceans and benthic invertebrates. They feed by turning on their sides and taking in water mixed with sediment, which

5644-549: The sensation of taste. Whale vocalization is likely to serve several purposes. Some species, such as the humpback whale, communicate using melodic sounds, known as whale song . These sounds may be extremely loud, depending on the species. Humpback whales only have been heard making clicks, while toothed whales use sonar that may generate up to 20,000 watts of sound (+73  dBm or +43  dBw ) and be heard for many miles. Captive whales have occasionally been known to mimic human speech. Scientists have suggested this indicates

5727-515: The shrinking and eventual disappearance of the hind limbs (the first odontocetes and mysticetes 34 mya). Whale morphology shows several examples of convergent evolution , the most obvious being the streamlined fish-like body shape. Other examples include the use of echolocation for hunting in low light conditions — which is the same hearing adaptation used by bats  — and, in the rorqual whales, jaw adaptations, similar to those found in pelicans , that enable engulfment feeding. Today,

5810-400: The skull by air-filled sinus pockets, which allow for greater directional hearing underwater. Odontocetes send out high-frequency clicks from an organ known as a melon . This melon consists of fat, and the skull of any such creature containing a melon will have a large depression. The melon size varies between species, the bigger the more dependent they are on it. A beaked whale for example has

5893-429: The sperm whale and bowhead whale, possess discrete rudimentary appendages, which may contain feet and digits. Whales are fast swimmers in comparison to seals, which typically cruise at 5–15 kn, or 9–28 kilometres per hour (5.6–17.4 mph); the fin whale, in comparison, can travel at speeds up to 47 kilometres per hour (29 mph) and the sperm whale can reach speeds of 35 kilometres per hour (22 mph). The fusing of

5976-526: The surface of the water—that some can survive even if they are blind. Some species, such as sperm whales, are particularly well adapted for diving to great depths to catch squid and other favoured prey. Whales evolved from land-living mammals, and must regularly surface to breathe air, although they can remain underwater for long periods of time. Some species, such as the sperm whale , can stay underwater for up to 90 minutes. They have blowholes (modified nostrils) located on top of their heads, through which air

6059-586: The term "Far East" to refer to the federal district, though the term is often also used more loosely. Defined by the boundaries of the federal district, the Far East has an area of 6.2 million square kilometres (2,400,000 sq mi)—over one-third of Russia's total area. Russia in the early 1900s persistently sought a warm-water port on the Pacific Ocean for the Imperial Russian Navy as well as to facilitate maritime trade. The recently established Pacific seaport of Vladivostok (founded in 1860)

6142-563: The twentieth century, with a population low of 450, and the North Pacific grey whale population is ranked Critically Endangered by the IUCN . Besides the threat from whalers, they also face threats from bycatch and marine pollution. The meat, blubber and baleen of whales have traditionally been used by indigenous peoples of the Arctic. Whales have been depicted in various cultures worldwide, notably by

6225-525: The war to plan an invasion for allied troops of Korea in order to reach Japan. After the Soviet invasion, the USSR returned Manchukuo and Mengjiang to China; Korea became liberated . The Soviet Union also occupied and annexed Japan's Kuril Islands and southern Sakhalin. The planned Soviet invasion of Japan proper never happened. During the Korean War , Primorsky Krai became the site of extreme security concern for

6308-461: The water, which may allow them to travel faster. Their skeletal anatomy allows them to be fast swimmers. Most species have a dorsal fin . Whales are adapted for diving to great depths. In addition to their streamlined bodies, they can slow their heart rate to conserve oxygen; blood is rerouted from tissue tolerant of water pressure to the heart and brain among other organs; haemoglobin and myoglobin store oxygen in body tissue; and they have twice

6391-478: The water. Upon striking an object in the water, the sound waves bounce back at the whale. These vibrations are received through fatty tissues in the jaw, which is then rerouted into the ear-bone and into the brain where the vibrations are interpreted. All toothed whales are opportunistic, meaning they will eat anything they can fit in their throat because they are unable to chew. These animals rely on their well-developed flippers and tail fin to propel themselves through

6474-488: The water; they swim by moving their fore-flippers and tail fin up and down. Whale ribs loosely articulate with their thoracic vertebrae at the proximal end, but do not form a rigid rib cage. This adaptation allows the chest to compress during deep dives as the pressure increases. Mysticetes consist of four families: rorquals (balaenopterids) , cetotheriids , right whales (balaenids) , and grey whales (eschrichtiids) . The main difference between each family of mysticete

6557-672: The water; they swim by moving their fore-flippers and tail fin up and down. Whale ribs loosely articulate with their thoracic vertebrae at the proximal end, but they do not form a rigid rib cage. This adaptation allows the chest to compress during deep dives as opposed to resisting the force of water pressure. Excluding dolphins and porpoises, odontocetes consist of four families: belugas and narwhals (monodontids) , sperm whales (physeterids) , dwarf and pygmy sperm whales (kogiids) , and beaked whales (ziphiids) . The differences between families of odontocetes include size, feeding adaptations and distribution. Monodontids consist of two species:

6640-537: The whales' closest terrestrial living relatives. Mysticetes are also known as baleen whales. They have a pair of blowholes side by side and lack teeth; instead they have baleen plates which form a sieve-like structure in the upper jaw made of keratin, which they use to filter plankton from the water. Some whales, such as the humpback, reside in the polar regions where they feed on a reliable source of schooling fish and krill . These animals rely on their well-developed flippers and tail fin to propel themselves through

6723-634: Was bordered by the Arctic Ocean , its East Siberian and Chukchi Seas , and from the east by the Pacific Ocean , the Bering Sea , the Sea of Okhotsk , and the Sea of Japan . On land the krai to the west bordered the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and East Siberian Krai (since 1930), to the south bordered the possessions of Japan such as Korea and South Sakhalin , and on

6806-578: Was operational only during the summer season, but Port Arthur (leased by Russia from China from 1896 onward) in Manchuria could operate all year. After the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the failure of the 1903 negotiations between Japan and the Tsar Nicholas II 's government, Japan chose war to protect its domination of Korea and adjacent territories. Russia, meanwhile, saw war as

6889-459: Was superseded by volunteer employees attracted by relatively high wages. During the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the Soviets occupied Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island , Yinlong Island , and several adjacent islets to separate the city of Khabarovsk from the territory controlled by a possibly hostile power. Indeed, Japan turned its military attention to Soviet territories. Conflicts between

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