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Balaenoptera musculus (Blue Whale)

Synonyms: Balaena musculus; Sibbaldius sulfureus
Language: French; Spanish

Wikipedia Abstract

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. At 30 metres (98 ft) in length and 180 metric tons or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed. Long and slender, the blue whale's body can be various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. There are at least three distinct subspecies: B. m. musculus of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia of the Southern Ocean and B. m.
View Wikipedia Record: Balaenoptera musculus

Infraspecies

Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda (Pygmy Blue Whale)
Balaenoptera musculus indica (Great Indian Rorqual)
Balaenoptera musculus intermedia (Southern Blue Whale)
Balaenoptera musculus musculus (Northern Blue Whale)

Endangered Species

Status: Endangered
View IUCN Record: Balaenoptera musculus

EDGE Analysis

The largest mammal ever known to have existed. The species is thought to feed almost exclusively on krill (small, shrimp-like crustaceans). In the summer feeding areas, individuals may consume as much as 4 tonnes of krill each day. Blue whales have the deepest voice of any animal, and their vocalizations carry for thousands of miles underwater, allowing them to communicate across vast oceans at frequencies below the range of human hearing. For centuries the blue whale was safe from exploitation because of its sheer size and speed. However, the species was driven to the brink of extinction following the development of modern whaling techniques.
Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
11
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
69
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 22.63
EDGE Score: 5.24
View EDGE Record: Balaenoptera musculus

Attributes

Adult Weight [2]  149.92 tons (136,000.00 kg)
Birth Weight [2]  2.20 tons (2,000.00 kg)
Female Maturity [2]  5 years
Male Maturity [2]  5 years
Diet [1]  Carnivore
Gestation [2]  11 months 20 days
Litter Size [2]  1
Litters / Year [2]  0
Maximum Longevity [2]  110 years
Migration [1]  Interoceanic
Speed [3]  29.82 MPH (13.33 m/s)
Water Biome [1]  Pelagic
Weaning [2]  6 months 2 days

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Map Climate Land Use
Alto Golfo de California y Delta del Rio Colorado Biosphere Reserve VI 2320468 Sonora, Mexico  
Archipelago de Colon Biosphere Reserve 34336011 Galapagos Islands, Ecuador  
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary   California, United States
Channel Islands National Park II 139010 California, United States
Everglades and Dry Tortugas Biosphere Reserve   Florida, United States  
Farallon National Wildlife Refuge IV 352 California, United States
Forillon National Park II 61010 Quebec, Canada  
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 177278 Hawaii, United States
Hawaiian Islands Biosphere Reserve 245981 Hawaii, United States  
Komodo National Park II 514967 Indonesia  
Kronotskiy Biosphere Reserve 361480 Russia  
Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve II 20461 Quebec, Canada
North Bull Island Nature Reserve IV 3544 Ireland  
Pacific Rim National Park Reserve II 137900 British Columbia, Canada
Palmer LTER Site Long Term Ecological Research   Antarctica    
Point Reyes National Seashore II 27068 California, United States
Reserva de la Biosfera El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve VI 6176727 Mexico  
Reserve de la Biosphere de Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve 1383790 Canada  
Saguenay - St. Lawrence Marine Park National Marine Conservation Area II 310822 Canada
Tierra Del Fuego National Park II 172861 Argentina

Emblem of

Antigua And Barbuda

Prey / Diet

Euphausia pacifica (Pacific krill)[4]
Nyctiphanes simplex[5]
Thysanoessa inermis[4]
Thysanoessa longipes[4]
Thysanoessa spinifera[5]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Atheresthes stomias (Turbot)1
Balaenoptera acutorostrata (Minke Whale)3
Balaenoptera edeni (Bryde's whale)1
Balaenoptera physalus (Fin Whale)3
Bathyraja interrupta (Sandpaper skate)3
Bathyraja trachura (Roughtail skate)1
Bellator gymnostethus (Nakedbelly searobin)1
Brachyramphus marmoratus (Marbled Murrelet)2
Caulolatilus princeps (Bighead tilefish)1
Cepphus columba (Pigeon Guillemot)1
Citharichthys sordidus (Sanddab)1
Clupea pallasii pallasii (Pacific herring)1
Diaphus theta (California headlightfish)2
Eschrichtius robustus (Gray Whale)1
Fratercula arctica (Atlantic Puffin)1
Fulmarus glacialis (Northern Fulmar)2
Katsuwonus pelamis (White bonito)1
Lyopsetta exilis (Slender sole)1
Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback Whale)3
Mobula japanica (Spinetail mobula)1
Mobula thurstoni (smoothtail mobula)1
Nansenia candida (Bluethroat argentine)1
Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Atka mackerel)1
Prionotus stephanophrys (Blackfin gurnard)1
Ptychoramphus aleuticus (Cassin's Auklet)2
Puffinus tenuirostris (Short-tailed Shearwater)4
Raja rhina (Longnose skate)1
Rissa tridactyla (Black-legged Kittiwake)3
Sardinops sagax (Australian pilchard)2
Sebastes alutus (Snapper)2
Sebastes caurinus (Copper rockfish)1
Sebastes crameri (Rockfish)1
Sebastes diploproa (Splitnose rockfish)2
Sebastes flavidus (Yellowtail rockfish)2
Sebastes maliger (Rockfish)1
Sebastes pinniger (Rockfish)2
Sebastes serranoides (Rockfish)2
Sigmops gracilis (Slender fangjaw)1
Stenobrachius leucopsarus (Smallfin lanternfish)1
Sterna paradisaea (Arctic Tern)1
Synthliboramphus antiquus (Ancient Murrelet)3
Theragra chalcogramma (Whiting)1
Trichiurus lepturus (Atlantic Cutlassfish)1

Consumers

Parasitized by 
Anisakis simplex[6]
Bolbosoma balaenae[6]
Bolbosoma brevicolle[6]
Bolbosoma hamiltoni[6]
Bolbosoma nipponicum[6]
Bolbosoma paramuschiri <Unverified Name>[6]
Bolbosoma turbinella[6]
Crassicauda boopis <Unverified Name>[6]
Crassicauda crassicauda <Unverified Name>[6]
Crassicauda tortilis <Unverified Name>[6]
Diplogonoporus balaenopterae[6]
Lecithodesmus goliath[6]
Odontobius ceti[6]
Ogmogaster antarcticus[6]
Ogmogaster grandis <Unverified Name>[6]
Ogmogaster plicatus[6]
Priapocephalus grandis[6]
Priapocephalus minor[6]
Pseudoterranova decipiens[6]
Tetrabothrius affinis[6]
Tetrabothrius ruudi[6]
Tetrabothrius schaeferi[6]
Tetrabothrius wilsoni[6]

Distribution

Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean;

External References

Photos

Citations

Species recognized by Gardner A.L, 05-Dec-2008, ITIS Global: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System in Catalog of Life 2011
Endangered Status provided by IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2 <www.iucnredlist.org> Downloaded on 11 April 2013.
Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org ♦ 2de Magalhaes, J. P., and Costa, J. (2009) A database of vertebrate longevity records and their relation to other life-history traits. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22(8):1770-1774 ♦ 3Wikipedia licensed under a Creative Commons License ♦ 4Food Web Relationships of Northern Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca : a Synthesis of the Available Knowledge, Charles A. Simenstad, Bruce S. Miller, Carl F. Nyblade, Kathleen Thornburgh, and Lewis J. Bledsoe, EPA-600 7-29-259 September 1979 ♦ 5Blue whale habitat and prey in the California Channel Islands, Paul C. Fiedler, Stephen B. Reilly, Roger P. Hewitt, David Demer, Valerie A. Philbrick, Susan Smith, Wesley Armstrong, Donald A. Croll, Bernie R. Tershy, Bruce R. Mate, Deep-Sea Research II 45 (1998) 1781-1801 ♦ 6Gibson, D. I., Bray, R. A., & Harris, E. A. (Compilers) (2005). Host-Parasite Database of the Natural History Museum, London
Protected Areas provided by Biological Inventories of the World's Protected Areas in cooperation between the Information Center for the Environment at the University of California, Davis and numerous collaborators.
Images provided by Google Image Search
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
EDGE analysis provided by EDGE of Existence programme, Zoological Society of London
Weather provided by NOAA METAR Data Access