Balaenoptera musculus - Earth.com
balaenoptera musculus
12-22-2016

Balaenoptera musculus

Balaenoptera musculus NatureServe Explorer Species Reports — NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.

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The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whale suborder Mysticeti. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 feet) and weight of 173 tonnes (190 tons), it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale’s long and slender body can be various shades of grayish-blue dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath.

There are currently five subspecies of blue whale, recognized by the Society for Marine Mammalogy‘s Committee on Taxonomy: B. m. musculus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia in the Southern Ocean, B. m. brevicauda (the pygmy blue whale) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, B. m. indica in the Northern Indian Ocean, and B. m. unnamed subsp. in the waters off Chile. The blue whale diet consists almost exclusively of euphausiids (krill).

The blue whale was once abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the end of the 19th century. It was hunted almost to the point of extinction by whaling until the International Whaling Commission banned all hunting of blue whales in 1967. The International Whaling Commission catch database estimates that 382,595 blue whales were caught between 1868 and 1978. The global blue whale population is estimated to be 10,000–25,000

Detailed information
Full Name: Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
Where found: Wherever found
Critical Habitat:N/A
Species Group:Mammals
Current listing status
Status Date Listed Lead Region Where Listed
Endangered 06/02/1970 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Wherever found
  • States/US Territories in which the Blue whale, Wherever found is known to or is believed to occur: Alaska , California
  • US Counties in which the Blue whale, Wherever found is known to or is believed to occur: View All
  • USFWS Refuges in which the Blue whale, Wherever found is known to occur: Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
Federal register documents
Date
Citation Page
Title
06/02/1970 35 FR 8491 8498 Part 17 - Conservation of Endangered Species and Other Fish or Wildlife (First List of Endangered Foreign Fish and Wildlife as Appendix A)
04/14/1970 35 FR 6069 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Endangered Species Conservation); 35 FR 6069
Recovery
No critical habitat rules have been published for the Blue whale.
Date
Title
Plan Action Status
Plan Status
07/28/1998 Recovery Plan for the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera Musculus) View Implementation Progress Final
Date
Title
Plan Action Status
Plan Status
07/28/1998 Recovery Plan for the Blue Whale (Balaenoptera Musculus) View Implementation Progress Final
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