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Minke
The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish naturalist Otto Fabricius in 1780, who assumed it must be an already known species and assigned his specimen to ''Balaena rostrata'', a name given to the northern bottlenose whale by Otto Friedrich Müller in 1776. In 1804, Bernard Germain de Lacépède described a juvenile specimen of ''Balaenoptera acuto-rostrata''. The name is a partial translation of Norwegian ''minkehval'', possibly after a Norwegian whaler named Meincke, who mistook a northern minke whale for a blue whale. Taxonomy Most modern classifications split the minke whale into two species; * Common minke whale or northern minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') :and *Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis''). Taxonomists further categ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Minke Whale
The common minke whale or northern minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the smallest species of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. Although first ignored by whalers due to its small size and low oil yield, it began to be exploited by various countries beginning in the early 20th century. As other species declined larger numbers of common minke whales were caught, largely for their meat. It is now one of the primary targets of the whaling industry. There is a dwarf form in the Southern Hemisphere. This species is known in the fossil record from the Pliocene epoch to the Quaternary period (age range: 3.6 million years ago to present day). Vernacular names The origins of the species' common name are obscure. One of the first references to the name came in Henrik Johan Bull's account of his 1893–95 voyage to the Antarctic, when he mentioned catching a small whale "called ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antarctic Minke Whale
The Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second smallest rorqual after the common minke whale and the third smallest baleen whale. Although first scientifically described in the mid-19th century, it was not recognized as a distinct species until the 1990s. Once ignored by the whaling industry due to its small size and low oil yield, the Antarctic minke was able to avoid the fate of other baleen whales and maintained a large population into the 21st century, numbering in the hundreds of thousands.Branch, T. A. (2006). "Abundance estimates for Antarctic minke whales from three completed circumpolar sets of surveys, 1978/79 to 2003/04". ''Paper'' SC/58/IA18 ''submitted to the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee'', pp. 1–28. Surviving to become the most abundant baleen whale in the world, it is now one of the mainstays of the industry alongside it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baleen Whale
Baleen whales ( systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea ( whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve planktonic creatures from the water. Mysticeti comprises the families Balaenidae (right and bowhead whales), Balaenopteridae ( rorquals and the gray whale), and Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale). There are currently 16 species of baleen whales. While cetaceans were historically thought to have descended from mesonychids, molecular evidence instead supports them as a clade of even-toed ungulates (Artiodactyla). Baleen whales split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) around 34 million years ago. Baleen whales range in size from the and pygmy right whale to the and blue whale, the largest known animal to have ever existed. They are sexually dimorphic. Baleen whales can have streamlined or large bodies, de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 whale, which reaches ; even the smallest of the group, the northern minke whale, reaches . Rorquals take their name from French , which derives from the Norwegian word : the first element originated from the Old Norse name for this type of whale, , probably related to the Norse word for "red", and the second from the Norse word ''hvalr'' meaning "whale" in general. The family name Balaenopteridae is from the type genus, '' Balaenoptera''. Characteristics All members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel (except the sei whale and common minke whale, which have shorter grooves). These furrows allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding, "permitting them to engo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygmy Right Whale
The pygmy right whale (''Caperea marginata'') is a species of baleen whale. It may be a member of the cetotheres, a family of baleen whales which until 2012 were thought to be extinct; ''C. marginata'' has otherwise been considered the monotypic taxon sole member of the family Neobalaenidae and is the only member of the genus ''Caperea''. First described by John Edward Gray in 1846, it is the smallest of the baleen whales, ranging between in length and in mass. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale may have more in common with the gray whale and rorquals than the bowhead and right whales. The pygmy right whale is found in temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere, and feeds on copepods and euphausiids. Little is known about its population or social habits. Unlike most other baleen whales, it has rarely been subject to exploitation. Taxonomy During the 1839-43 voyage of James Clark Ross, naturalists found bones and baleen plates resembling a smaller version of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whale Comparison Public Domian Photo By Charles Melville Scammon For Coast Of North America (1872)
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and porpoises may be considered whales from a formal, cladistic perspective. Whales, dolphins and porpoises belong to the order Cetartiodactyla, which consists of even-toed ungulates. Their closest non-cetacean living relatives are the hippopotamuses, from which they and other cetaceans diverged about 54 million years ago. The two parvorders of whales, baleen whales (Mysticeti) and toothed whales (Odontoceti), are thought to have had their last common ancestor around 34 million years ago. Mysticetes include four extant (living) families: Balaenopteridae (the rorquals), Balaenidae (right whales), Cetotheriidae (the pygmy right whale), and Eschrichtiidae (the grey whale). Odontocetes include the Monodontidae (belugas and n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaenoptera Acustorostrata - Zwergwalskelett
''Balaenoptera'' () is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. ''Balaenoptera'' comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two aforementioned species being phylogenetically nested within it. This genus is known in the fossil records from the Neogene to the Quaternary (13.65 million years ago to the present). 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 (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') * Sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis'') ** Northern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis borealis'') ** Southern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii'') * Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni'') **O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 cetacean on Earth after the blue whale. The largest reportedly grow to long with a maximum confirmed length of , a maximum recorded weight of nearly , and a maximum estimated weight of around . American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound of the sea ... for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship." The fin whale's body is long and slender, coloured brownish-grey with a paler underside. At least two recognized subspecies exist, in the North Atlantic and the Southern Hemisphere. It is found in all the major oceans, from polar to tropical waters. It is absent only from waters close to the pack ice at the poles and relative ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaenoptera Bonaerensis
''Balaenoptera'' () is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. ''Balaenoptera'' comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two aforementioned species being phylogenetically nested within it. This genus is known in the fossil records from the Neogene to the Quaternary (13.65 million years ago to the present). 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 (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') * Sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis'') ** Northern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis borealis'') ** Southern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii'') * Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni'') **O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balaenoptera Acutorostrata
''Balaenoptera'' () is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. ''Balaenoptera'' comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two aforementioned species being phylogenetically nested within it. This genus is known in the fossil records from the Neogene to the Quaternary (13.65 million years ago to the present). 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 (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') * Sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis'') ** Northern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis borealis'') ** Southern sei whale (''Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii'') * Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera ede ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on its head. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watchers. Males produce a complex song typically lasting 4 to 33 minutes. Found in oceans and seas around the world, humpback whales typically migrate up to each year. They feed in polar waters and migrate to tropical or subtropical waters to breed and give birth. Their diet consists mostly of krill and small fish, and they use bubbles to catch prey. They are promiscuous breeders, with both sexes having multiple partners. Orcas are the main natural predators of humpback whales. Like other large whales, the humpback was a target for the whalin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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. The common Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera brydei'', Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and the Sittang or Eden's whale (''Balaenoptera edeni'', Anderson, 1879) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the Indo-Pacific. Also, a smaller, coastal form of ''B. brydei'' is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale. The recently described Omura's whale (''B. omurai'', Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. Rice's whale (''B. ricei''), which makes its home solely in the Gulf of Mexico, was once c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_13.jpg "Click for more on -> Antarctic Minke Whale")
