''Balaenoptera'' () is a genus of

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

); the genus is currently polyphyletic, 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 o ...

nested within it. This genus is known in the fossil records 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 years ...

(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 (''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 ...

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

Pygmy fin whale In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a po ...

(''Balaenoptera physalus patachonica'') **

North Atlantic fin whale North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

(''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 North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

(''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 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 ''Balaenoptera bertae'' is an extinct species of baleen whale that lived from 3.35 to 2.5 Mya during the Pliocene in the region of today's San Francisco Bay Area. Il held, also during the early to middle Neogene, a diverse assembly of cetaceans. ...

'' 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 The Purisima Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in California. It preserves fossils dating from the Miocene, Late Miocene to Pliocene, Late Pliocene. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in California * Pale ...

of California.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 ''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 ...

'' 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'', 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.''Balaenoptera cephalus''
at

Fossilworks Fossilworks is a portal which provides query, download, and analysis tools to facilitate access to the Paleobiology Database The Paleobiology Database is an online resource for information on the distribution and classification of fossil animals ...

.org * †''

Balaenoptera colcloughi ''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 ...

'' is known from four specimens, including four skulls and some postcranial 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 aforemen ...

'', like ''B. cephalus'', was originally classified under ''

'', but it has since been moved to ''Balaenoptera''. It was native to the Pliocene San Diego Formation 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, and may be the same genus or species as ''

Cetotheriophanes capellinii ''Cetotheriophanes'' is an extinct rorqual from the late Pliocene (Piacenzian) of northern Italy.T. A. Demere, A. Berta, and M. R. McGowen. 2005. The taxonomic and evolutionary history of modern balaenopteroid mysticetes. Journal of Mammalian Ev ...

''. 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 Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

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 ''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 aforemen ...

'' 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 ''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 aforem ...

'' is named after Taiwan, 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.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