Baleen whale

Baleen whales are a widely distributed and diverse parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals. They are classified in the parvorder Mysticeti and comprise the families Balaenidae (right whales), Balaenopteridae (rorquals), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the gray whale). There are currently 15 species of baleen whale. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence supports them as relatives of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) around 34 million years ago.