Science, Tech, Math › Animals & Nature Marine Life Glossary: Baleen Share Flipboard Email Print Dave Fleetham / Design Pics/Perspectives/Getty Images Animals & Nature Marine Life Key Terms Marine Life Profiles Marine Habitat Profiles Sharks Amphibians Birds Habitat Profiles Mammals Reptiles Insects Forestry Dinosaurs Evolution View More By Jennifer Kennedy Marine Science Expert M.S., Resource Administration and Management, University of New Hampshire B.S., Natural Resources, Cornell University Jennifer Kennedy, M.S., is an environmental educator specializing in marine life. She serves as the executive director of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation. our editorial process Jennifer Kennedy Updated January 02, 2018 Baleen is a strong, yet flexible material made out of keratin, a protein that is the same material that makes up our hair and fingernails. It is used by whales to filter their prey from the sea water. Whales in the Suborder Mysticeti have several hundred plates of baleen hanging from their upper jaw. Like our fingernails, the baleen grows continuously. The baleen plates are about a quarter-inch apart and are smooth on the outer edge but have a hairy fringe on the inner edge. The fringe on the plates overlaps and creates a mesh-like strainer inside the whale's mouth. The whale uses this strainer to trap its prey (usually small schooling fish, crustaceans or plankton) while it filters out the sea water, which it cannot drink in large quantities. Some baleen whales, like the humpback whale, feed by gulping large amounts of prey and water and then using their tongue to force the water out in between the baleen plates. Other whales, like right whales, are skim feeders and move slowly through the water with their mouths open as the water flows in the front of the mouth and out in between the baleen. Along the way, tiny plankton is trapped by the right whale's fine baleen hairs. Baleen is historically important as it was sought by whalers, who called it whalebone, even though it is not made of bone at all. The baleen was used in many things such as in corsets, buggy whips, and umbrella ribs. Also Known As: Whalebone Examples: The fin whale has between 800-900 baleen plates hanging from its upper jaw. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Kennedy, Jennifer. "Marine Life Glossary: Baleen." ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020, thoughtco.com/baleen-definition-2291694. Kennedy, Jennifer. (2020, August 26). Marine Life Glossary: Baleen. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/baleen-definition-2291694 Kennedy, Jennifer. "Marine Life Glossary: Baleen." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/baleen-definition-2291694 (accessed January 28, 2021). copy citation