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Balaenoptera borealis Lesson, 1828 
AphiaID: 137088

Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Tetrapoda (Superclass) > Mammalia (Class) > Theria (Subclass) > Cetartiodactyla (Order) > Cetancodonta (Suborder) > Cetacea (Infraorder) > Mysticeti (Superfamily) > Balaenopteridae (Family) > Balaenoptera (Genus)
Status accepted
Record
status
 Checked by Taxonomic Editor
Rank Species
Parent Balaenoptera Lacépède, 1804
Synonymised
taxa
  Balaenoptera alba Giglioli, 1870 (synonym)
Balaenoptera arctica Temminck, 1841 (synonym)
Balaenoptera iwasi Gray, 1846 (synonym)
Balaenoptera laticeps Gray, 1846 (synonym)
Balaenoptera schlegelii Van Beneden & Gervais, 1880 (synonym)
Balaenoptera schlegellii Dabbene, 1902 (synonym)
Balena rostrata Rudolphi, 1822 (synonym)
Belaenoptera schlegeli Lahille, 1899 (synonym)
Pterobalaena alba Giglioli, 1874 (synonym)
Pterobalaena schlegeli Tomilin, 1957 (synonym)
Pterobalaena schlegeli alba Tomilin, 1957 (synonym)
Sibbaldius schlegelii Gray, 1864 (synonym)
Sources  original description: Lesson (1828). Compléments des oeuvres de Buffon ou Histoire naturelle des animaux rares, 1 (Cétacés):342 [not pl. 12, = B. acutorostrata] [details]

basis of record: van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376 (look up in IMIS[details]

additional source: Carwardine, M., E. Hoyt, R. E. Fordyce and P. Gill. 1998. Whales, dolphins and porpoises. Time-Life Books. Nature Company Guides, USA. 288 p. [details]

additional source: Linkletter, L.E. 1977. A checklist of marine fauna and flora of the Bay of Fundy. Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, N.B. 68 p. [details]

additional source: Mead, J. G. and R. L. Brownell, Jr. (2005). Cetacea. Pages 723--743 in Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp., available online at http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/ [details]

additional source: Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4. [details]

additional source: Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of living whales. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 246:1--259. [details]

additional source: Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, available online at http://www.iucnredlist.org [details]

additional source: Perrin, W. F., B. Würsig and J. G. M. Thewissen. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source: King, C. (2009). Terrestrial mammals (Chordata). In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp [details]

additional source: Schmidly, D. J. and B. Würsig. 2009. Mammals (Vertebrata: Mammalia) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1343–1352 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details]

additional source: ITIS database, available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]

Vernacular
Names
 
Language   Name 
Afrikaans seiwalvis  [details]
Bulgarian seyvаl  [details]
Bulgarian Сейвал  [details]
Catalan balena del nord  [details]
Czech pletvák severný  [details]
Danish sejhval  [details]
Dutch noordse vinvis  [details]
Dutch nordsche vinvisch  [details]
English dike whale  [details]
English fish whale  [details]
English flatback  [details]
English northern rorqual  [details]
English pollack whale  [details]
English Rudolph's rorqual  [details]
English sardine whale  [details]
English sei whale  [details]
French baleine noire  [details]
French rorqual de Rudolph  [details]
German Seiwal  [details]
Hebrew לויתן צפוני  [details]
Icelandic sandereydur  [details]
Italian balenottera boreale  [details]
Japanese iwashi kujira  [details]
Japanese iwasikuzira  [details]
Japanese kaguo kuzira  [details]
Korean bori-gorae  [details]
Lithuanian seivalas  [details]
Modern Greek (1453-) Βορειοφάλαινα  [details]
Norwegian seichval  [details]
Norwegian seihval  [details]
Norwegian Bokmål seihval  [details]
Norwegian Nynorsk seikval  [details]
Polish sejwal  [details]
Russian ivasevyi kit  [details]
Russian ivasevyi polosatik  [details]
Russian saidianoi kit  [details]
Russian seival  [details]
Russian сейвал  [details]
Slovenian zajval  [details]
Spanish ballena boba  [details]
Spanish ballena boreal  [details]
Spanish ballena sei  [details]
Spanish rorcual boreal  [details]
Spanish rorcual de Rudolphi  [details]
Spanish rorqual del norte  [details]
Spanish rorqual norteno  [details]
Spanish seihual  [details]
Swedish sejval  [details]
Thai plawan klaebkhribdam  [details]
Turkish sey balinası  [details]
Ukrainian івасевий кит  [details]
Ukrainian Сайдяний кит  [details]
Ukrainian Сейвал  [details]
Welsh morfil asgellog sei  [details]
Direct child
taxa

[show all]
 Subspecies Balaenoptera borealis borealis Tomilin, 1946
Subspecies Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii Tomilin, 1946
Environment marine
Distribution Antarctica [details]
Azores Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Comores [details]
European waters (ERMS scope) [details]
Gulf of Maine [details]
Gulf of Mexico [details]
Gulf of St. Lawrence [details]
Kenya [details]
Madagascar [details]
Mauritius [details]
Mediterranean Sea [details]
Mozambique [details]
New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Noordkaap [details]
North West Atlantic [details]
Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Reunion [details]
Seychelles [details]
Somalia [details]
Spanish Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
St. Lawrence Estuary [details]
Subantarctic Waters [details]
Tanzania [details]
United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
World Oceans [details]
Feedingtype  carnivore [details]
Host of  Pennella balaenopterae Koren & Danielssen, 1877 (parasitic: ectoparasitic)
Links Marine Life Information Network - UK
To Barcode of Life (2 barcodes)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (181 publications)
To Encyclopedia of Life
To GenBank (71 nucleotides; 80 proteins)
To IUCN Red List
To Marine Species Identification Portal
To PESI
To ITIS
Notes  Diet: euphausiids, copepods, amphipods, small fish, squid [details]

Dimensions: Length: male 42-60 1/2' (12.8-18.5 m), female 44-69' (13.4-21 m), at birth 15' (4.6 m) [details]

Distribution: semi-cosmopolitan [details]

Distribution: Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]

Habitat: mostly in open ocean [details]

Habitat: offshore [details]

Holotype: Skeleton in Berlin Museum, originally described and figured by Rudolphi in 1822 as Balaena rostrata, then as the "rorqual du nord" by Cuvier (1823). Stranded Feb. 21, 1819. [details]

IUCN Red List Category: Endangered (EN) [details]

Morphology: Distinguishing characteristics: Blow readily visible-6m (20'0 straight column, less dense than fin whale. Curved dorsal fin mid-back. Colour is slate grey, occasional round scars. [details]

Predators: None [details]

Reproduction: Calving: Winter in unknown localities; Weaning: 7 months [details]

Type locality: Coast of Holstein near Gromitz, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.  [details]
Images 
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 10 & 11)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 10 & 11)
added on 2008-06-02 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 22:59:49

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 14 & 15)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, pl. 14 & 15)
added on 2008-06-02 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:00:09

Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
added on 2009-05-02 - author: NOAA NMFS SWFSC PRD
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-05-02 00:44:44

Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis)
added on 2009-05-02 - author: NOAA NMFS SWFSC PRD
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-05-02 00:45:32

Racovitza (1903, pl. 3)
Racovitza (1903, pl. 3)
added on 2011-07-26 - author: E. G. Racovitza
scan provided by VLIZ - Wetenschatten
qualitystatus: not checked

Balaenoptera borealis
Balaenoptera borealis
added on 2012-03-14 - author: VLIZ Collection
qualitystatus: not checked

Balaenoptera borealis
Balaenoptera borealis
added on 2012-03-14 - author: VLIZ Collection
qualitystatus: not checked
LSID urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137088
Taxonomic
Edit history
 
Date   action   by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z  created  van der Land, Jacob
2008-08-20 11:25:36Z  checked  Perrin, William
  
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  Citation: Perrin, W. (2013). Balaenoptera borealis. In: Perrin, W.F. (2013) World Cetacea Database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137088 on 2013-06-19
  Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License