Page "Blue whale" Paragraph 11

The blue whale has a long tapering body that appears stretched in comparison with the stockier build of other whales.

The head is flat, U-shaped and has a prominent ridge running from the blowhole to the top of the upper lip.

The front part of the mouth is thick with baleen plates ; around 300 plates ( each around one metre ( 3. 2 ft ) long ) hang from the upper jaw, running 0. 5 m ( 1. 6 ft ) back into the mouth.

Between 70 and 118 grooves ( called ventral pleats ) run along the throat parallel to the body length.

These pleats assist with evacuating water from the mouth after lunge feeding ( see feeding below ).