Flexible, comb-like plates that hang from the upper jaws of certain whales, used to filter small organisms from seawater. These keratin structures replace teeth in filter-feeding whales.
From Middle English, possibly from Old French 'baleine' meaning 'whale'. The term originally referred to whalebone, which was highly valued for making corsets and other flexible items before plastic was invented.
Baleen is nature's most efficient filter system, with some whale species having over 400 plates that can strain millions of tiny krill from the water in a single gulp! The plates are made of the same material as human fingernails but can grow over 10 feet long.
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