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WoRMS taxon details

Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) 
AphiaID: 137091

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 Lacépčde, 1804
Synonymised
taxa		  Balaena antipodarum Tomilin, 1957 (synonym)
 Balaena antiquorum Fischer, 1829 (synonym)
 Balaena boops Linnaeus, 1758 (synonym)
 Balaena mysticetus major Kerr, 1792 (synonym)
 Balaena physalis Kerr, 1792 (synonym)
 Balaena physalus Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
 Balaena quoyi Fischer, 1829 (synonym)
 Balaena rostrata australis Desmoulins, 1822 (synonym)
 Balaena sulcata Neill, 1811 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera antarctica Gray, 1846 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera aragous Farines & Carcasonne, 1829 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera australis Gray, 1846 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera blythii Anderson, 1879 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera brasiliensis Gray, 1846 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera gibbar Lacépčde, 1804 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera mediterraneensis Lesson, 1828 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera mediterranensis Cabrera, 1961 (misspelling)
 Balaenoptera musculus Van Beneden & Gervais, 1880 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera patachonica Lahille, 1905 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera patachonicus Burmeister, 1865 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera patagonica Dabbene, 1902 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera quoyii Lonnberg, 1906 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera rorqual Lacépčde, 1804 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera sulcata arctica Schlegel, 1841 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera swinhoii Gray, 1866 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera tenuirostris Sweeting, 1840 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera velifera Cope, 1869 (synonym)
 Balaenoptera velifera copei Elliot, 1901 (synonym)
 Balaenopteris guibusdam Tomilin, 1957 (synonym)
 Benedenia knoxii Gray, 1864 (synonym)
 Dubertus rhodinsulensis Tomilin, 1957 (synonym)
 Physalis vulgaris Fleming, 1828 (synonym)
 Physalus antarcticus Gray, 1850 (synonym)
 Physalus australis Gray, 1850 (synonym)
 Physalus brasiliensis Gray, 1850 (synonym)
 Physalus dugundii Heddle, 1856 (synonym)
 Physalus fasciatus Gray, 1850 (synonym)
 Physalus patachonicus Burmeister, 1866 (synonym)
 Physalus verus Billberg, 1828 (synonym)
 Pterobalaena communis Van Beneden, 1857 (synonym)
 Pterobalaena gigantea michrochira Barkos, 1862 (synonym)
 Rorqualus musculus F. Cuvier, 1836 (synonym)
 Sibbaldius tectirostris Cope, 1869 (synonym)
 Sibbaldius tuberosus Cope, 1869 (synonym)
 Swinhoia chinensis Gray, 1868 (synonym)
Sources  original description: Linnaeus C. (1758). Systema Naturae. Editio Decima, Tomus I. Holmiae [Stockholm]: Laurentii Salvii.
page(s): 75 [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: Thomas, M.L.H. (ed.). 1983. Marine and coastal systems of the Quoddy Region, New Brunswick. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64. 306 p. [details]

additional source: Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details]

additional source: ITIS database, available online at http://www.itis.gov [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: Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of living whales. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 246:1--259. [details]

additional source: Rice, D.W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4:1--231/ [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: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008., 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]

Vernacular
Names		 
Language   Name 
Aleutian mangidadakh  [details]
Aleutian mangidakh  [details]
Chukchi (Louravetlany) nilchoken biuu  [details]
Chukchi (Louravetlany) niltkhokkein uiiut  [details]
Czech plejtvák myšok  [details]
Dutch gewone vinvis  [details]
Dutch gewoone vinnvisch  [details]
Dutch vinvisch  [details]
English common finback whale  [details]
English common finwhale  [details]
English common rorqual  [details]
English fin whale  [details]
English finback whale  [details]
English finner  [details]
English herring whale  [details]
English razor back  [details]
French baleine américaine  [details]
French rorqual commun  [details]
French vraie baleine  [details]
German Finnfisch  [details]
German Finnwal  [details]
German Schnabelwal  [details]
Greenlandic keporkarnak  [details]
Icelandic finnhvaler  [details]
Icelandic furehvaler  [details]
Icelandic hunfubaks  [details]
Icelandic langreydur  [details]
Icelandic sildrek  [details]
Italian balenottera comune  [details]
Italian balenottera fisallo  [details]
Italian rorqual comune  [details]
Italian rorquallo  [details]
Italian rorqualo  [details]
Japanese nagasu kujira  [details]
Koryak vapakylichan  [details]
Lapp reider  [details]
Norwegian finefisk  [details]
Norwegian finhval  [details]
Norwegian finqval  [details]
Norwegian loddehval  [details]
Norwegian sildehval  [details]
Norwegian sildrör  [details]
Norwegian stor-hval  [details]
Portuguese baleia fina  [details]
Russian finval  [details]
Russian nastoiashchiy polosatik  [details]
Russian obyknovennyi polosatik  [details]
Russian seldianoi polosatik  [details]
Slovenian Brazdasti kit  [details]
Spanish ballena boba  [details]
Spanish ballena de aleta  [details]
Spanish rorcual común  [details]
Swedish finnfisk  [details]
Swedish rörval  [details]
Swedish sillhval  [details]
Swedish sillval  [details]
Yupik tykyshkok  [details]
Direct child
taxa		 Subspecies Balaenoptera physalus physalus Tomilin, 1946
Subspecies Balaenoptera physalus quoyi Fischer, 1829
Subspecies Balaenoptera physalus quoyii Tomilin, 1946 accepted as Balaenoptera physalus quoyi Fischer, 1829
Environment marine
Distribution Antarctica (Large Marine Ecosystem) [details]
Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Comores [details]
Den Helder [details]
European waters (ERMS scope) [details]
Gulf of Maine [details]
Kenya [details]
Madagascar [details]
Mauritius [details]
Mediterranean Sea [details]
Mozambique [details]
North Sea [details]
North West Atlantic [details]
Reunion [details]
Seychelles [details]
Somalia [details]
Subantarctic Waters [details]
Tanzania [details]
Vlissingen [details]
Wimereux (not certain) [details]
World Oceans [details]
Feedingtype  carnivore [details]
Links To GenBank
Marine Life Information Network - UK
To Marine Species Identification Portal
To Barcode of Life (2 barcodes)
To ITIS
Notes  Diet: schooling fish, euphasiids and other invetebrates, copepods (when young), squid [details]

Dimensions: Length: male 58-82' (17.7-25 m), female 60-88 1/2' (18.3-27 m), at birth 19 1/2' + (5.9 m+) [details]

Distribution: in all oceans [details]

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

Habitat: mostly offshore but also near the coast [details]

Holotype: None; based primarily on the "finfish" of Martens (1675) [details]

Importance: In the North-West Atlantic region, it is the dominant large cetacean species in all seasons, with the largest standing stock, the largest food requirements, and therefore the largest impact on the ecosystem of any cetacean species. [details]

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

Morphology: Distinguishing characteristics: white lower jaw on right, gray on left. Blow readily visible-10 m(33') tall, straight column. Curved dorsal fin closer to tail. light grey with white belly, occasional blotches of orange/yellow, blaze or chevron extending from eye across back. Fin and blue whales have the deepest, loudest voices in the ocean, letting them communicate over great distances. Second largest living animal after the blue whale. [details]

Predators: Killer whale (Orcinus orca) [details]

Reproduction: Calving: December to April in Northern Hemisphere, austral winter in Southern Hemisphere, in unknown localities; Weaning: 1 year [details]

Type locality: "Oceano Europaeo," specifically the Spitzbergen Sea [details]
Images 
Fin whale
Fin whale
added on 2006-11-24 - author: Nobuo Kokubun
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:11:29

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 3)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 3)
added on 2008-06-03 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-17 23:10:33

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
added on 2009-05-02 - author: NOAA NMFS SWFSC PRD
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-05-02 00:19:22

Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
added on 2009-05-02 - author: NOAA NMFS SWFSC PRD
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-05-02 00:20:39
Edit
history		 
Date   action   by
2004-12-21 15:54:05 GMT  created  van der Land, Jacob
2008-08-20 11:25:36 GMT  checked  Perrin, William
  
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  Citation: Perrin, W. (2009). Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Perrin, W.F. World Cetacea Database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137091 on 2010-02-09
  Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License