Balaenoptera
| Balaenoptera | ||||||||||||
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Blue whale mother with calf |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Balaenoptera | ||||||||||||
| Linnaeus , 1758 |
The genus Balaenoptera is next to the monotypical genus Megaptera , to which only the humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) belongs, the second genus within the furrow whales (Balaenopteridae).
features
The furrowed whales are characterized by the 50 to 90 ventral furrows that run on the underside of the animals from the mouth to the navel and allow the mouth to expand when eating. They also have in comparison to the right whales , a dorsal fin and significantly shorter and wider Barten . In comparison with the humpback whale, the significantly smaller pectoral fins (flippers) are noticeable. With the blue whale and the fin whale, this genus contains the largest living animal species at all.
Systematics
The genus Balaenoptera contains eight species, which can be divided into three species groups:
- Minke whale group
- Northern minke whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata )
- Southern minke whale ( Balaenoptera bonaerensis )
- Blue whale group
- Fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus )
- Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus )
- Omura's whale ( Balaenoptera omurai )
- Brydewal group
- Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ; synonym Balaenoptera brydei )
- Sei whale ( Balaenoptera borealis )
The recently described omura whale has only recently been recognized. Genetic analyzes of tissue samples showed that it was a species of its own. The status of the eden whale, which is also proposed as a separate species , is unclear, currently it is still added to the Bryde's whale.
literature
- SG Brown: Balaenoptera , in Jochen Niethammer, Franz Krapp (ed.): Handbook of Mammals in Europe. Volume 6: Marine mammals, part I whales and dolphins - Cetacea, part IB: Ziphidae, Kogiidae, Physeteridae, Balaenidae, Balaenopteridae. Aula-Verlag Wiesbaden 1995, ISBN 3-89104-560-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b T.A. Deméré: Family Balaenopteridae (Rorquals); Bryde's Whale Balaenoptera edeni In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier: Handbook of the Mammals of the World. 4. Sea Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2014; Pp. 289-290. ISBN 978-84-96553-93-4 .