WoRMS taxon details

Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)

137090  (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137090)

accepted
Species
Balaena borealis Fischer, 1829 · unaccepted (synonym)
Balaena maximus · unaccepted
Balaena musculus Linnaeus, 1758 · unaccepted (basionym)
Balaenoptera carolinae Malm, 1866 · unaccepted (synonym)
Balaenoptera gigas Reinhardt, 1857 · unaccepted (synonym)
Balaenoptera indica Blyth, 1859 · unaccepted (synonym)
Balaenoptera miramaris Lahille, 1898 · unaccepted (synonym)
Balaenoptera sibbaldii Flower, 1885 · unaccepted (synonym)
Physalus latirostris Flower, 1865 · unaccepted (synonym)
Physalus sibbaldii Gray, 1847 · unaccepted (synonym)
Pterobalaena gigas Reinhardt, 1857 · unaccepted (synonym)
Pterobalaena grypus Munter, 1877 · unaccepted (synonym)
Rorqualus boops F. Cuvier, 1836 · unaccepted (synonym)
Rorqualus borealis Hamilton, 1837 · unaccepted (synonym)
Rorqualus major Knox, 1870 · unaccepted (synonym)
Sibbaldius borealis Gray, 1864 · unaccepted (synonym)
Sibbaldius musculus Kellogg, 1929 · unaccepted (synonym)

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marine, terrestrial
(of Balaena musculus Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. <em>Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition], vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae.</em> , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886
page(s): 76 [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 
Note Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK  
From editor or global species database
Type locality Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK [details]
Distribution in all oceans  
Distribution in all oceans [details]

Distribution Found in all oceans of the world. Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific;...  
Distribution Found in all oceans of the world. Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]
Fordyce, E.; Perrin, W.F. (2024). World Cetacea Database. Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137090 on 2024-03-19
Date
action
by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z
created
2008-08-20 11:25:36Z
checked

Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License


original description  (of Balaena musculus Linnaeus, 1758) Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. <em>Editio decima, reformata [10th revised edition], vol. 1: 824 pp. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae.</em> , available online at https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/726886
page(s): 76 [details]  Available for editors  PDF available [request] 

basis of record van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, <B><I>in</I></B>: Costello, M.J. <i>et al.</i> (Ed.) (2001). <i>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,</i> 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 Mead, J. G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). Cetacea. <em>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.</em> 723--743., available online at http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/ [details]   

additional source Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. <em>Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication.</em> 4., available online at http://www.marinemammalscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MarineMammalsOfTheWorld.pdf [details]   

additional source Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. <em>Bulletin of the United States National Museum.</em> (246): 1-259., available online at https://doi.org/10.5479/si.03629236.246 [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 Perrin, W.F.; Würsig, B.; Thewissen, J.G.M. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Second edition. Academic Press: London. ISBN 978-0-12-373553-9. xxix, 1316 pp. (look up in IMIS[details]   

additional source King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. <em>in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia.</em> pp. 431-554. [details]   

ecology source Fioravanti, T.; Maio, N.; Latini, L.; Splendiani, A.; Guarino, F. M.; Mezzasalma, M.; Petraccioli, A.; Cozzi, B.; Mazzariol, S.; Centelleghe, C.; Sciancalepore, G.; Pietroluongo, G.; Podestà, M.; Caputo Barucchi, V. (2022). Nothing is as it seems: genetic analyses on stranded fin whales unveil the presence of a fin-blue whale hybrid in the Mediterranean Sea (Balaenopteridae). <em>The European Zoological Journal.</em> 89(1): 590-600., available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/24750263.2022.2063426 [details]  OpenAccess publication 

ecology source Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. <em>Scientific Data.</em> 10(1). (look up in IMIS), available online at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02745-4 [details]  OpenAccess publication 
 
 Present  Present in aphia/obis/gbif/idigbio   Inaccurate  Introduced: alien  Containing type locality 
   

From editor or global species database
Holotype None; based primarily on Balaena fistula duplici of Artedi, 1738. [details]

IUCN Red List Category Endangered (EN); Antarctic population Critically Endangered (CR) [details]

Morphology Distinguishing characteristics: colour slate blue to grayish blue and mottled with lighter spots, particularly on the back and shoulders. Underside often covered with microorganisms, giving the belly a yellowish tinge. dorsal fin short, only about 35 cm, and placed far back on the body. Upper jaw is the widest in the genus, and the rostrum is the bluntest. There are 50-90 throat grooves that extend from the chin to just beyond the navel. Average length is adult males is 25 m and females is 27m. Largest animal in the world. [details]

Type locality Firth of Forth, Scotland, UK [details]

From other sources
Diet euphausiids with some squid, amphipods, copepods, red crabs [details]

Dimensions Length: male 65 1/2' -101 1/2' (20-31 m), female 69-110' (21-33.6 m), at birth 19 1/2' + (5.9 m+) [details]

Distribution in all oceans [details]

Distribution Found in all oceans of the world. Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]

Habitat offshore [details]

Habitat mostly offshore but also near the coast [details]

Predators None [details]

Reproduction Gestation is 11-12 months long with young born in warm, low latitude waters in the winter months after the adults return from their high latitude feeding grounds. Weaned: 7-8 months. Sexual maturity occurs at 8-9 years and young are produced every 2-3 years. [details]
LanguageName 
Afrikaans blouwalvis  [details]
Aleut omgoliaabugulikh  [details]
Catalan balena blava  [details]
Chukot tnmerken-uiiutakhvorkhrikh  [details]
Czech plejtvák obrovský  [details]
Dutch blauwe vinvis  [details]
English sulphurbottom whaleSibbald's rorqualOstende whalegreat rorqualgreat northern rorqualgreat blue whalefinny whalecommon rorqualblue whaleblue rorqual  [details]
French rorqual de Sibbaldrorqual bleubaleine jubartebaleine d'Ostendbaleine bleue  [details]
German SchwefelbauchwalSchanelwalRiesenwalBlauwal  [details]
Icelandic steypireydrhrefnahafreydur  [details]
Indonesian paus birulaylan agi  [details]
Italian balenottera azzura  [details]
Japanese シロナガスクジラsiro nagasu kujira  [details]
Kalaallisut tunnolik  [details]
Korean daewang-gorae  [details]
Malagasy trozona manga  [details]
Norwegian rörqualheipe-reydurblaahval  [details]
Portuguese baleia azul  [details]
Russian sinii kitgoluboi kitbolshoi polosatikblyuval  [details]
Spanish rorcual giganterorcual azulkilagran rorcalballena azulalfawarealfaguara  [details]
Swedish muskel finnfiskjattenhvalblaval  [details]
Yupik languages takyshkoktakerrkak  [details]