Until now it was believed that whales and dolphins had no sense of smell. However, a study published in the journal Marine Mammal Science has just shown otherwise. As Professor Hans Thewissen, from the Northeast Ohio University College of Medicine (USA) has discovered, dissecting the brain cavities of a Greenland whale or boreal whale ( Balaena mysticetus ), these animals have an olfactory bulb large and developed that allows them to smell.
In addition, further analysis revealed that Greenland whales have functional olfactory receptor proteins , which provide marine mammals with the biochemical infrastructure necessary to retain odors . On the other hand, unlike most whales, Greenland whales have separate nostrils, suggesting that they may be able to sense the direction a particular scent is coming from.
"We think they are actually able to smell krill and can use this sense to locate their prey," explains Professor Thewissen, adding that "krill smells like boiled cabbage."
