TABLE 3.
Tongue functions (following Table 1 # scheme) classified by extant cetacean families, indicating functions performed by any (not necessarily all) taxa within family.
| Key | =known or documented (sources cited in text) | =probable function | =possible function | [unshaded] = highly unlikely or impossible | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Family | #1 | #2 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | #12A | #12B |
| Prey prehension | Transport/manipulate | Hold prey | Swallow | Generate suction | Expel water | Hydraulic jetting | Create flow regime | Channel oral flow | Fold into pouch | Clean baleen by contact | Clean baleen by backwash | |
| Physeteridae | ||||||||||||
| Kogiidae | ||||||||||||
| Ziphiidae | ||||||||||||
| Platanistidae | ||||||||||||
| Iniidae | ||||||||||||
| Pontoporiidae | ||||||||||||
| Lipotidae | ||||||||||||
| Monodontidae | ||||||||||||
| Delphinidae | ||||||||||||
| Phocoenidae | ||||||||||||
| Balaenidae | ||||||||||||
| Neobalaenidae | ||||||||||||
| Eschrichtiidae | ||||||||||||
| Balaenopteridae |