Rorquals have a number of anatomical features that enable them to do this, including bilaterally separate mandibles, throat pleats that can expand to huge size, and a unique sensory organ consisting of a bundle of mechanoreceptors that helps their brains to coordinate the engulfment action.

What is the function of the rorqual?

When rorquals locate a school of krill or small fish, they accelerate and, at the last second, open their mouth. The mandible (lower jaw) then opens to 90°, allowing water and prey to enter, after which the stomach balloons like a parachute.

What is the major difference between rorqual and non rorqual whales?

Call of a minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) recorded in the Atlantic Ocean and played back at 10 times normal speed. Rorquals are distinguished from other baleen whales by the presence of ventral grooves extending from the chin and lower jaw margins down the throat to the belly.