Toothed whales use echolocation to locate objects by interpreting returning echoes. They produce directed clicks, listen for reflections, and use the timing and character of those echoes to investigate their surroundings.
This biosonar system helps dolphins, porpoises, and other toothed whales navigate and find prey, especially in dark or visually limited water. Sound travels efficiently underwater, making acoustic sensing particularly valuable in the marine environment.
The clicks are generated in the nasal passages and focused through specialized tissues in the forehead, including the melon. The lower jaw and associated tissues help receive returning sound, which is transmitted toward the inner ear.
Echolocation is not the same as ordinary hearing or communication. A toothed whale can use sounds socially, but echolocation specifically involves producing signals and analyzing echoes. Bats independently evolved a comparable strategy in air, while baleen whales are not generally described as using toothed-whale-style echolocation.