''Balaenoptera'' () is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

rorqual Rorquals () are the largest clade, group of baleen whales, comprising the family (biology), family Balaenopteridae, which contains nine extant taxon, extant species in two genus, genera. They include the largest known animal that has ever lived, ...

s containing eight

extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern 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 * Exta ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. ''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 monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

and

gray whale The gray whale (''Eschrichtius robustus''), also known as the grey whale,Britannica Micro.: v. IV, p. 693. is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of , a weight of up to and lives between ...

); the genus is currently

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

, with the two aforementioned species being

phylogenetically In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical data ...

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 ( ,) 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 million years ago. It is the second period of th ...

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), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

(13.65 million years ago to the present).

Taxonomy and systematics

The genus ''Balaenoptera'' contains the following extant species and subspecies: *

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. Althoug ...

(''Balaenoptera acutorostrata'') **

North Atlantic 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. Althoug ...

(''Balaenoptera acutorostrata acutorostrata'') ** North Pacific minke whale (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata scammoni'') * Antarctic minke whale (''Balaenoptera bonaerensis'') *

Sei whale The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale. It is one of ten rorqual species, and the third-largest member after the blue and fin whales. It can grow to in length and weigh as much as . Two subspecies are recognized: ...

(''Balaenoptera borealis'') **

Northern sei whale The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale. It is one of ten rorqual species, and the third-largest member after the blue and fin whales. It can grow to in length and weigh as much as . Two subspecies are recognized: ...

(''Balaenoptera borealis borealis'') **

Southern sei whale The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale. It is one of ten rorqual species, and the third-largest member after the blue and fin whales. It can grow to in length and weigh as much as . Two subspecies are recognized: ...

(''Balaenoptera borealis schlegelii'') *

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

(''Balaenoptera edeni'') **

Offshore Bryde's whale Offshore may refer to: Science and technology * Offshore (hydrocarbons) * Offshore construction, construction out at sea * Offshore drilling, discovery and development of oil and gas resources which lie underwater through drilling a well * Of ...

(''Balaenoptera brydei'' or ''Balaenoptera edeni brydei'') (taxonomy disputed) **

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

(''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 ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus'') **

Northern blue whale Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus musculus'') **

Antarctic blue whale The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of ...

(''Balaenoptera musculus intermedia'') **

Northern Indian Ocean blue whale Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

(''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. Taxonomy The pygmy blue whale formed from a founder group of An ...

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

Fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, wi ...

(''Balaenoptera physalus'') ** Pygmy fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus patachonica'') ** North Atlantic fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus physalus'') ** Southern fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus quoyi'') ** North Pacific fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus velifera'') * Rice's whale (''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 (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

specimen named, hence are considered '' nomina dubia''.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 The Late Miocene (also known as Upper Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch, which lasted from 11.63 Ma (million years ago) to 5.333 Ma. The ...

to Upper Pliocene Purisima Formation of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

.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 (''E. robustus'') and the extinct Akishima whale ''Eschrichtius akishimaensis'', described in 2017, is one of two species, with the modern day gray whale, of t ...

'' (gray whales) or ''

Cetotherium ''Cetotherium'' ("whale beast") is an extinct genus of baleen whales from the family Cetotheriidae. Taxonomy The family Cetotheriidae and the genus ''Cetotherium'' (sensu lato) have been used as wastebaskets for all kinds of baleen whales, mo ...

'', 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 U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

.''Balaenoptera cephalus''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks was 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 cr ...

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

postcrania The postcranium ("behind the cranium"; plural: postcrania) or postcranial skeleton in zoology and vertebrate paleontology is the skeleton apart from the skull. The postcranium encompasses the axial skeleton, which includes the entirety of the verte ...

l remains, found at the San Diego Formation. 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 ''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 aforeme ...

'', 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 (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58San Diego Formation of California.''Balaenoptera davidsonii''
at

.org The only known fossil of ''B. davidsonii'' is a fragment of the left

dentary In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone ...

.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 January 2024, it had a population of 950 and an area of .All demographics and o ...

(originally assigned to ''B. cortesii'' by Portis 885, 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 The tympanic part of the temporal bone is a curved plate of bone lying below the squamous part of the temporal bone, in front of the mastoid process, and surrounding the external part of the ear canal. It originates as a separate bone (tympanic ...

.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. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

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

.org ''B. taiwanica'' is also based on a single

, which is similar to that of ''B. physalus'', the

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, wi ...

.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

* * {{Authority control Rorquals Cetacean genera Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Bernard Germain de Lacépède