''Balaenoptera'' () is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

rorqual Rorquals () are the largest group of baleen whales, which comprise the family Balaenopteridae, containing ten extant species in three genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach , and the fin wha ...

s containing eight

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

. ''Balaenoptera'' comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hu ...

and

gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, or California gray whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and bre ...

); the genus is currently

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

, with the two aforementioned species being

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups ...

nested within it. This genus is known in the

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s from the

Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...

to the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million year ...

(13.65 million years ago to the present). Balaenopteridae - Balaenoptera acutorostrata cuvieri

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus ''Balaenoptera'' contains the following extant species and subspecies: * Common minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') ** North Atlantic minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata acutorostrata'') ** North Pacific minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata scammoni'') *

Antarctic minke whale The Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whale Baleen whales ( systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of ...

(''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') *

Sei whale The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical w ...

(''Balaenoptera borealis'') ** Northern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis borealis'') ** Southern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii'') *

Bryde's whale Bryde's whale ( Brooder's), or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. ...

(''Balaenoptera edeni'') ** Offshore Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera brydei'' or ''Balaenoptera edeni brydei'') (taxonomy disputed) ** Eden's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni edeni'') *

Blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus'') ** Northern blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus musculus'') ** Antarctic blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus intermedia'') ** Northern Indian Ocean blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus indica'') **

Pygmy blue whale The pygmy blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'') is a subspecies of the blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') found in the Indian Ocean and the southern Pacific Ocean. Reaching lengths of up to 24 metres (79 ft) it is sma ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'') * Omura's whale (''Balaenoptera omurai'') *

Fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ceta ...

(''Balaenoptera physalus'') ** Pygmy fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus patachonica'') ** North Atlantic fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus physalus'') **

Southern fin whale The southern fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus quoyi'') is a subspecies of fin whale that lives in the Southern Ocean. At least one other subspecies of fin whale, the northern fin whale (''B. p. physalus''), exists in the northern hemisphere. ...

(''Balaenoptera physalus quoyi'') ** North Pacific fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus velifera'') *

Rice's whale Rice's whale (''Balaenoptera ricei''), also known as the Gulf of Mexico whale, is a species of baleen whale endemic to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Initially identified as a subpopulation of the Bryde's whale, genetic and skeletal studies fou ...

(''Balaenoptera ricei'')

Fossil species

Many fossil ''Balaenoptera'' species have been described. Some (namely ''B. borealina'', ''B. definata'', ''B. emarginata'', ''B. gibbosa'', ''B. rostratella'', and ''B. sibbaldina'') are either nondiagnostic, highly fragmentary, or had no

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of seve ...

specimen named, hence are considered ''

nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

''.M. Bisconti. 2007. A new basal balaenopterid whale from the Pliocene of northern Italy. Palaeontology 50(5):1103-1122 The valid fossil species of ''Balaenoptera'' are: * †'' Balaenoptera bertae'' is a relatively small species from the Upper Miocene to

Upper Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Purisima Formation of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

.Boessenecker, Robert W. "A new marine vertebrate assemblage from the Late Neogene Purisima Formation in Central California, part II: Pinnipeds and Cetaceans." Geodiversitas 35.4 (2012): 815-940. * †'' Balaenoptera cephalus'' was originally thought to be a species of ''

Eschrichtius ''Eschrichtius'' is a genus of baleen whale containing two species: the gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. gray back whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray wha ...

'' (gray whales) or '' Cetotherium'', but more recent analysis shows it to be a member of ''Balaenoptera''.R. E. Weems and L. E. Edwards. 2007. The age and provenance of "Eschrichtius" cephalus Cope (Mammalia: Cetacea). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(3):752-756 Fossils of the species were found in the Calvert Formation of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

.''Balaenoptera cephalus''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database, a large relational database assembled by hundreds of paleontologists from around the world. History Fossilworks was crea ...

.org * †'' Balaenoptera colcloughi'' is known from four specimens, including four skulls and some

postcrania Postcrania (postcranium, adjective: postcranial) in zoology and vertebrate paleontology is all or part of the skeleton apart from the skull. Frequently, fossil remains, e.g. of dinosaurs or other extinct tetrapods, consist of partial or isolated sk ...

l remains, found at the

San Diego Formation The San Diego Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern San Diego County in southern California (United States), and northwestern Baja California (México). Geology It is a coastal transitional marine and non-marine pebble and cobble ...

. It was a close relative of '' Megaptera novaeangliae'' (the humpback whale), ''B. siberi'', and ''B. physalus'' (the fin whale).Martin. (2014)
From Finbacks to Humpbacks: Investigation of the Evolutionary History of Balaenopteridae
. * †''"Balaenoptera" cortesii'' is a small species based on a juvenile specimen from Montezago; it probably represents a distinct, unnamed genus of balaenopterid. * †'' Balaenoptera davidsonii'', like ''B. cephalus'', was originally classified under ''

'', but it has since been moved to ''Balaenoptera''. It was native to the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58San Diego Formation The San Diego Formation is a geologic formation in southwestern San Diego County in southern California (United States), and northwestern Baja California (México). Geology It is a coastal transitional marine and non-marine pebble and cobble ...

of California.''Balaenoptera davidsonii''
at

.org The only known fossil of ''B. davidsonii'' is a fragment of the left dentary.T. Demere. 1986. The fossil whale, Balaenoptera davidsonii (Cope 1872), with a review of other Neogene species of Balaenoptera (Cetacea: Mysticeti). Marine Mammal Science 2(4):277-298 * †''"Balaenoptera" portisi'' is based on MGPT 13803 from

Montafia Montafia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Asti in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northwest of Asti. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 986 and an area of .All demographics and ...

(originally assigned to ''B. cortesii'' by Portis

885 Year 885 ( DCCCLXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Charles the Fat summons a meeting of officials at Lobith (modern ...

, and may be the same genus or species as '' Cetotheriophanes capellinii''. The species ''"B. floridana"'' is indistinguishable from ''"B." portisi''. * †'' "Balaenoptera" ryani'' is a valid species but is not in fact a species of ''Balaenoptera''. It probably represents a distinct genus of basal balaenopterid. * †'' Balaenoptera siberi'' is known from two complete skeletons. Its affinity with the genus ''Balaenoptera'' has been questioned.M. Bosselaers and K. Post. 2010. A new fossil rorqual (Mammalia, Cetacea, Balaenopteridae) from the Early Pliocene of the North Sea, with a review of the rorqual species described by Owen and Van Beneden. Geodiversitas 32(2):331-363 * †'' Balaenoptera sursiplana'' is a fragmentary species, based on a single fossilized tympanic bone.E. D. Cope. 1895. Fourth contribution to the marine fauna of the Miocene period of the United States. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 34:135-155 * †'' Balaenoptera taiwanica'' is named after

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

, where the fossil was found in the Pliocene-aged Cholan Formation.''Balaenoptera taiwanica''
at

.org ''B. taiwanica'' is also based on a single tympanic bone, which is similar to that of ''B. physalus'', the

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of ceta ...

.T. Huang. 1966. A new species of a whale tympanic bone from Taiwan, China. Transactions and Proceedings of the Paleontological Society of Japan 61:183-187

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q133320 Baleen whales Cetacean genera Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède