Which animal has the longest tail in the ocean?

As most people know, the blue whale is the largest of all the whales. Indeed, it is even the largest of all the mammals — it is the largest known animal (although not the longest - giant squid have been found over 200 ft long including tentacles.)! Blue whales reach an average of 85 ft (25.5 m) in length, with the largest specimen ever caught being 94 ft (28.2 m) long. Sexual dimorphism is present, with the females being larger than the males. The blue whales in the Southern Hemisphere are generally larger than those in the northern hemisphere. The northern variety is typically 75-80 ft (22.5-24 m) long.

Blue whales are also the world's heaviest animals, averaging at 110 tons (99 800 kg), the equivalent of 30 elephants. The females weigh more than the males, and the heaviest specimen caught, weighing at 174 tons (157 900 kg), was female.

The blue whale has a long, streamlined body that tapers off to form a tail, which ends with the tail flukes. The head is large, wide and flat. Extending from the lower jaw to the navel are 55- 68 grooves, known as pleats, which expand when feeding, enabling the mouth to hold large volumes of water. The water is then strained through 260-400 fringed plates known as baleen (whalebone). These black plates are roughly 39 inches (97.5 cm) in length, 21 inches (52.5 cm) wide, and weigh 200 lb (90 kg). The baleen filter out food from the water.

The blue whale, due to its massive size, has a massive circulatory system. The heart alone is the size of a Volkswagon Beetle, and weighs 2000 lb (908 kg). The aorta, the largest artery leading from the heart, is large enough for a person to crawl through. Roughly 14 000 lb (6400 kg) of blood is pumped from the heart to the rest of the body.

Blue whales are aquatic mammals, and therefore lack legs (although vestigial limbs can be found internally). However, they have fins, flippers, and flukes, which direct the movement of the whale underwater. The dorsal fin is positioned 3/4 of the way back on the body. It varies in shape but is generally like that of a sickle, and measures 1 ft (30 cm) in height. The flippers are positioned 1/3 of the way back along either side of the body and are generally 8 ft (2.4 m) long. The flippers are tapered. The tail flukes are triangular and are 25 ft (7.6 m) wide.

Blue whales are typically a blue-grey in colour. The flippers are lighter than the body, and the underside of the are flukes darker. The belly is a yellow-green in colour due to microscopic diatoms that are picked up while swimming.

Blue whales are highly communicative, and are perhaps the loudest of all the animals. Their calls can reach 188 decibels and travel hundreds of kilometers underwater.

Blue whales have a life span of 35-50 years.

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