What does Cetacea mean in Latin?

The word cetacean comes from the Latin word cetus, which was used to refer to any large sea creature, and the Greek word ketos, which was a sea monster or whale. The suffix acea means “of the nature of,” so cetacean describes a creature belonging to the family of whales or dolphins.

What is the meaning of the order Cetacea?

: an order of completely aquatic mostly marine eutherian mammals consisting of the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms, all having a very large head, a tapering body like a fish and nearly devoid of hair, forelimbs like paddles, no hind limbs, a tail ending in a broad horizontal fin, a large brain, a complex …

What is Cetacea in zoology?

cetacean, (order Cetacea), any member of an entirely aquatic group of mammals commonly known as whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The ancient Greeks recognized that cetaceans breathe air, give birth to live young, produce milk, and have hair—all features of mammals.

What is Cetacea and Sirenia?

Cetacea is an infraorder comprising of large carnivorous aquatic mammals, while sirenia is an order comprising of small herbivorous aquatic mammals. So, this is the key difference between cetacea and sirenia.

What is the etymology of Cetacea?

Cetacea (n.) order of marine mammals containing whales, 1795, Modern Latin, from Latin cetus “any large sea creature” (whales, seals, dolphins), from Greek kētos “a whale, a sea monster,” which is of unknown origin, + -acea.

What is common name for Cetacea?

whale
Cetacea (from Latin: cetus, lit. ‘whale’ (/sɪˈteɪʃə/), from Ancient Greek: κῆτος, romanized: kētos, lit.

What does the name Sirenia mean?

Definition of sirenian : any of an order (Sirenia) of aquatic herbivorous mammals (such as a manatee, dugong, or Steller’s sea cow) that have large forelimbs resembling paddles, no hind limbs, and a flattened tail resembling a fin.

Where are Cetacea found?

oceans
While the majority of Cetaceans live in marine environments, a small number exclusively reside in brackish water or freshwater. Having a cosmopolitan distribution, they can be found in some rivers and all of earth’s oceans and many species inhabit vast ranges where they migrate with the changing of the seasons.

What is the definition of perissodactyla?

Definition of perissodactyl : any of an order (Perissodactyla) of nonruminant ungulate mammals (such as a horse, a tapir, or a rhinoceros) that usually have an odd number of toes, molar teeth with transverse ridges on the grinding surface, and the posterior premolars resembling true molars.

What does pinnipedia mean in Latin?

: a suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals including all the seals and the walruses.