The teeth you described are called baleen. Baleen is an adaptation for filter-feeding. In baleen whales, stiff plates of baleen grow down from the gums of the upper jaw. The baleen plates are arranged in rows that extend down each side of the mouth. Baleen is made of keratin, the same material that makes up hair and fingernails.
Baleen whales strain huge amounts of plankton and small fishes through their baleen plates.
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