Baleen Baleen Baleen is a filter-feeder system inside the mouths of baleen whales. The baleen system works by a whale opening its mouth underwater and taking in water. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and remain as food source for the whale. Baleen is similar to bristles and consists of keratin, the same substance found in human fingernails and hair. Baleen is a skin derivative. Some whales, such as the bowhead whale, have longer baleen than others. Other whales, such as the gray whale, only use one side of their
Baleen whale the penis, which tapers toward the end, is called the "pars intrapraeputialis" or "terminal cone". The blue whale has the largest penis of any organism on the planet, typically measuring . Accurate measurements of the blue whale are difficult to take because the whale's erect length can only be observed during mating. The penis on a right whale can be up to – the testes, at up to in length, in diameter, and weighing up to , are also the largest of any animal on Earth. All baleen whales use sound for communication and are known to "sing", especially during