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Balaenoptera physalus

(Baleine ? Nageoires)

Overview

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The Fin Whale is found throughout every ocean in the world, from the tropics to the polar regions, but is rarely seen inshore . They migrate to polar waters in summer for feeding and return to warmer seas in winter for breeding.

Endangered

Threat status

Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Aleut:

Keporkarnak, Tunnolik, Tykyshkok

Common Names in Czech:

kyt myší, myšok, plejtvák myšok, tunolik

Common Names in Danish:

Rorhval

Common Names in Dutch:

Gevone vinvisch, Gewone vinvis, Gewoone vinnvisch, Vinvisch

Common Names in English:

Common finback, Common finback whale, Common finwhale, Common rorqual, fin whale, Fin-backed whale, Finback, finback whale, Finfish, Finnback, Finner, Finner whale, Gibbar, Herring whale, Razor back, Razorback, Southern Fin Whale

Common Names in Finnish:

Reider

Common Names in French:

Baleine ? Nageoires, Baleine à nageoires, Baleine américaine, Baleine fin, Baleinopt?re Commune, Baleinoptère commune, Rorqual, rorqual commun, Vraie baliene

Common Names in German:

Finnfisch, Finnval, Finnwal, Schnabelwal

Common Names in Icelandic:

Finnhvaler, Hunfubacks, Langreydur, Seldreki, Sildrek

Common Names in Italian:

Balenottero comune, Capidolio, Rorqualo

Common Names in Japanese:

Nagasu-kujira

Common Names in Miscellaneous Langua:

Mangidadakh, Mangidakh, Nilchoken Biuu, Niltkhokkein Uiiut, Vapakylichan

Common Names in Norwegian:

Finefisk, Finhval, Finqval, Loddehval, Sildehval, Sildrör, Stor-hval, Tue-qual

Common Names in Portuguese:

Baleia comum

Common Names in Russian:

Finval, Nastoiashchii polosatik, Obyknovennyi polosatik, Seldianoi kit, Seldianoi polosatik

Common Names in Spanish:

Ballena aleta, Ballena boba, Ballena de aleta, Rorcual Com?n, Rorcual común

Common Names in Swedish:

Finnfisk, Rörval, Sillhval, Sillval

Description

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Physical Description

Species Balaenoptera physalus

This is a streamlined whale , second in size to only the Blue Whale. The dorsal fin - which often slopes backwards - is set about two-thirds back along the body, and is not as erect as in the Sei Whale or Minke Whale. The flukes are broad and triangular, and the head is pointed . It is dark-grey to brownish-black in colour , with white undersides and between 55-100 throat grooves . There are 520-950 baleen plates per animal, the largest of which is 90cm in length . The Fin Whale is between 19-22.3m long, with the longest recorded animal at 26m; females are generally larger. It weighs between 45-75 tonnes .

Recognition at Sea : The Fin Whale is almost identical to other rorquals , apart from the fact that it is larger than all others except the Blue Whale. To distinguish between the Fin and the Blue, the Fin’s dorsal appears rapidly after the blow , unlike the Blue’s, which takes longer to appear because of the sheer size of the animal. The Fin Whale's blow is a slim, inverse cone rising about 6m clear of the water.

Size/Age/Growth

Longevity : Approximately 60 years.

Habitat

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -5,196 meters (0 to -17,047 feet).[1]

Biome: Marine .

Ecology: Fin whales are often portrayed in the secondary literature as eating fish including juvenile herring (e.g. NAMMCO undated). However, the available quantitative evidence suggests that the fin whale’s reputation as a fish-eater is largely overstated. In Icelandic catches, 96% contained krill only, 2.5% a mixture of krill and fish, and 1.6% fish only (Sigurjónsson and Víkingsson 1997), while only one of 267 fin whales caught in the northeast Pacific off British Columbia, Canada, contained fish (Flinn et al. 2002), and over 99% of stomachs with food in the Antarctic contained krill (Kawamura 1994). On the other hand, Overholtz and Nicolas (1979) reported apparent feeding by fin whales on American sand lance (sand eel) Ammodytes americanus in the northwest Atlantic, and Mitchell (1975) found that capelin comprised 80-90% of prey in fin whales caught off Newfoundland. Capelin abundance is extremely variable over time, and fin whales may feed opportunistically on capelin in high-capelin years.

In summary, although the fin whale is more flexible in its diet than the blue whale (B . musculus), its consumption of fish does not necessarily make it a significant competitor with fisheries. [2].

List of Habitats :

Biology

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Diet

The Fin Whale specialises in 'gulping' euphausiids (tiny plankton ), different species of which are preferred in different geographical locations. Some fish, such as herring and capelin, as well as squid, are also taken as food.

Behavior

Fin Whales are more gregarious in manner than other rorquals , and are usually found either in pairs (as in mother and calf ) or in groups of 6-10 animals. Although individuals are also common, congregations of approximately 100 can be found on the feeding grounds . The Fin Whale dives to a maximum of about 300m and communicates via moans, pulses, clicks, and grunts , as well as breaching .

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Balaena Physalis • Balaenoptera physalus Cabrera (part not Linnaeus) 1961 • Balaenoptera physalus Linnaeus • Balænoptera physalus • Balænoptera physalus Linnaeus • Balænoptera physalus physalus

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 05-Dec-2008

The subspecific phylogeny of Fin Whales has not yet been fully elucidated, but some authors recognize a northern hemisphere subspecies B . p. physalus and a southern hemisphere subspecies B. p. quoyi which has a larger body size. Clarke (2004) proposed a pygmy subspecies B. p. patachonica Burmeister, 1865, but this is not widely accepted and no genetic analysis has been performed.[2].

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Balaenoptera

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 17 species and subspecies in this genus:

B. acuto-rostrata (Sharp Headed Finner Whale) · B. acutorostrata (Sharp Headed Finner Whale) · B. acutorostrata acutorostrata (Sharp Headed Finner Whale) · B. acutorostrata scammoni (Minke Whale) · B. bonaerensis (Antarctic Minke Whale) · B. borealis (Rudolph’s Rorqual) · B. borealis borealis (Rudolph’s Rorqual) · B. borealis schlegellii (Sei Whale) · B. brydei (Bryde's Whale) · B. edeni (Brydes Whale Complex) · B. musculus (Great Northern Rorqual) · B. musculus brevicauda (Pygmy Blue Whale) · (Antarctic Blue Whale) · B. musculus musculus (Blue Whale) · B. omurai (Omuras Whale) · B. physalus (Common Finback Whale) · B. physalus physalus (Fin Whale)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 17, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 342.290 meters (1,122.999 feet), Standard Deviation = 778.920 based on 14,623 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
  2. Reilly, S.B., Bannister, J.L., Best, P.B., Brown, M., Brownell Jr., R.L., Butterworth, D.S., Clapham, P.J., Cooke, J., Donovan, G.P., Urbán, J. & Zerbini, A.N. 2008. Balaenoptera physalus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 30 January 2012. [back]
Last Revised: 2012-07-18