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WoRMS taxon details

Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861) 
AphiaID: 137112

Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Tetrapoda (Superclass) > Mammalia (Class) > Theria (Subclass) > Cetartiodactyla (Order) > Cetancodonta (Suborder) > Cetacea (Infraorder) > Mysticeti (Superfamily) > Eschrichtiidae (Family) > Eschrichtius (Genus)
Status accepted
Record
status
 Checked by Taxonomic Editor
Rank Species
Parent Eschrichtius Gray, 1864
Synonymised
taxa
  Agaphelus glaucus Cope, 1868 (synonym)
Balaena boops Kerr, 1792 (synonym)
Balaena gibbosa Erxleben, 1777 (synonym)
Balaenoptera robusta Lilljeborg, 1861 (basionym)
Eschrichtius gibbosus Van Deinse & Junge, 1937 (synonym)
Eschrichtius glaucus Maher, 1961 (synonym)
Rhachianectes glaucus Cope, 1869 (synonym)
Sources  original description: Lilljeborg. (1861). Forh. Skand. Naturf. Ottende Møde, Kopenhagen (1860), 8.
page(s): 602 [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: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web., available online at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html [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: ITIS database, available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]

Vernacular
Names
 
Language   Name 
Aleut chikakhluk  [details]
Chukot kentaen  [details]
Czech plejtvákovec šedý  [details]
Danish gråhval  [details]
Dutch grijze walvis  [details]
Dutch gryijze walvisch  [details]
English California gray whale  [details]
English California ranger  [details]
English California whale  [details]
English devilfish  [details]
English graesoe whale  [details]
English gray whale  [details]
English grayback  [details]
English grey whale  [details]
English hard head  [details]
English mud digger  [details]
English mussel digger  [details]
English rip sack  [details]
English scamperdown  [details]
English scrag whale  [details]
English summer whale  [details]
French baleine à six bosses  [details]
French baleine grise  [details]
German Grauwal  [details]
German Knotenfisch  [details]
Italian balena grigia  [details]
Japanese aosagi  [details]
Japanese koku  [details]
Japanese koku kujira  [details]
Japanese kokuzira  [details]
Korean gwisin-gorae  [details]
Lithuanian pilkasis banginis  [details]
Modern Greek (1453-) Γκρίζα φάλαινα  [details]
Norwegian gråhval  [details]
Norwegian Kaliforniske graahval  [details]
Polish pływacz  [details]
Portuguese baleia cinzenta  [details]
Russian kaliforniiskii kit  [details]
Russian seryy kit  [details]
Russian серый кит  [details]
Slovenian sivi kit  [details]
Spanish ballena gris  [details]
Turkish gri balina  [details]
Ukrainian Кит сірий  [details]
Ukrainian Сірий кит  [details]
Vlaams grijze walvis  [details]
Yupik languages angtuchhaq  [details]
Yupik languages antokhak  [details]
Environment marine
Distribution Arctic Ocean [details]
European waters (ERMS scope) [details]
Gulf of Maine [details]
North Pacific [details]
North West Atlantic [details]
Links To Barcode of Life (6 barcodes)
To Biodiversity Heritage Library (99 publications)
To Encyclopedia of Life
To GenBank (250 nucleotides; 129 proteins)
To IUCN Red List
To Marine Species Identification Portal
To PESI
To ITIS
Notes  Diet: Bottom-dwelling amphipods, isopods, polychaete worms, mollusks, and other invertebrates and in some places at some times, various invertebrates at the surface or in the water column.The gammarid amphipod, Ampelisca macrocephala, is most likely the most commonly eaten prey in its main summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea. [details]

Dimensions: Length: male 45' (15 m) [details]

Distribution: East Pacific, Indo-West Pacific [details]

Habitat: strongly coastal [details]

Habitat: often found within a kilometre of the coastal shore [details]

Holotype: Partial skeleton found buried about 840 feet from the beach; in University Museum of Upsala, Sweden. [details]

IUCN Red List Category: Least Concern (LC) [details]

IUCN Red List Category: subpopulation Northwest Pacific gray whale : Critically Endangered (CR) [details]

Predators: killer whale [details]

Reproduction: Mating related behaviors noted all year, but conceptions occur within a 3-week period during the southward migration (early December). Gestation period is around 13 months, nursing 7 months. Sexually mature at eight. [details]

Type locality: Gräsö, Roslagan, Upland, Sweden [details]
Images 
Eschrichtius robustus
Eschrichtius robustus
added on 2009-02-13 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2013-03-29 22:46:21

Young gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in captivity
Young gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) in captivity
added on 2009-04-23 - author: Perrin, William
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-23 01:01:57

Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) entangled in gill net
Gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) entangled in gill net
added on 2009-04-23 - author: Steve Leatherwood
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-23 01:04:08
LSID urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137112
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). Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861). 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=137112 on 2013-05-23
  Creative Commons License The webpage text is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License