Technically, all dolphins and porpoises are whales. They all belong to the suborder Cetacea, which has approximately 86 living species, split into two parvorders:
| • | Odontoceti or toothed whales | porpoises, dolphins, other predatory whales including the beluga and sperm whale, and the poorly understood beaked whales |
| • | Mysticeti or baleen whales | filter feeders, including the blue whale, humpback whale and bowhead whale |
© Haydn Thompson 2021