The Filter Wing Whale

Art done by @SnailEmailed on IG.

### Description

The Filter Wing Whale is known for its filtered teeth and large wings. The filtered teeth of this whale are much farther apart, allowing most creatures out that are smaller than the average Bloat Peon. The Filter Wing Whale follows its main food source; the Bloat Peon, through the ocean currents the Bloatbellies follow. The Filter Wing Whale detects these ocean currents through sensitive hair-like fibers that drift on the underside of its open wings. Filter Wing Whales are also recognized for their unique fingerprint-like patterns on their wings, communicating something with their mates that is still unknown to scientists.

### Behavior

The Filter Wing Whale is a very docile species, known to drift nearby ships at sea while following ocean currents. This whale species is capable of surviving many days without food, as this is sometimes necessary when following Bloat Peons. Of course, this Whale is also capable of consuming other fish, Bloat Peons are simply their most desirable meal due to the amount of nutrients within the large eyes of the Bloat Peon. Given that this is their motivation to consuming the species, this explains their behavior of leaving Bloat Bellies alone when they encounter this whale.

Very interestingly, this species of whale does not follow the structure of pods with the rigidity of other whales. Filter Wing Whales can often be found leaving their pods with their young, or females from other pods.

### Anatomy

##### Head

The head of the Filter Wing Whale consists of its large filtered grin, as well as two smaller and inset eyes. Similar to other whale species, these eyes are often hard to discern as this species grows older. The large filtered teeth allow the whale to swallow helpless Bloat Peons, while digesting salt-water for calcium.

##### Body

The body of the Filter Wing Whale is composed similarly to other whale species, with a large strong skeleton surrounded by high density muscle.

##### Wings

The wings of the Filter Wing Whale are composed entirely of cartilage surrounding 5 main bone growths. Similar to a human hand, these bones lay sprawled across the wingspan of the Filter Wing Whale. These wings very interestingly possess an entirely unique fingerprint-like pattern for each male of the species. This unique pattern is what is believed to fuel the female's choice of mate. Hanging from these patterned wings are very small fibers that act similar to the whiskers of a cat, only allowing the whale to determine the currents in deep water.

##### Tail

The tail of the Filter Wing Whale is unremarkable in its composition, functioning very similarly to all other whale species.

### Reproduction

The Filter Wing Whale possesses very standard whale mating habits, with a single mating season each year, and females mating and giving birth on a 3 year cycle. Although also head-butting and flighting for dominance, the pattern on a male Filter Wing Whale's wings is what most likely determines who will mate with the fought over female. It is hypothesized that this pattern is communicating the strength of a Filter Wing Whale's DNA to the female, making them a more desirable mate, but nothing has been confirmed.