Description Lipid-rich, collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for parts of the appendages. It is strongly attached to the musculature and skeleton by highly organized, fan-shaped networks of tendons and ligaments, can comprise up to 50 per cent of the body mass of some marine mammals during some points in their lives, and can range from thick in dolphins and smaller whales, to more than thick in some bigger whales, such as right and bowhead whales. However, this is not indicative of larger whales' ability to retain heat better, as the thickness of a whale's blubber does not significantly affect heat loss. More indicative of a whale's ability to retain heat is the water and lipid concentration in blubber, as water reduces heat-retaining capacities, and lipid increases them.
Description Lipid-rich collagen fiber-laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body except for parts of the appendages It is strongly attached to the musculature and skeleton by highly organized fan-shaped networks of tendons and ligaments can comprise up to 50 per cent of the body mass of some marine mammals during some points in their lives and can range from thick in dolphins and smaller whales to more than thick in some bigger whales such as right and bowhead whales However this is not indicative of larger whales' ability to retain heat better as the thickness of a whale's blubber does not significantly affect heat loss More indicative of a whale's ability to retain heat is the water and lipid concentration in blubber as water reduces heat-retaining capacities and lipid increases them