Big whales
As great whales are whales called, are among the 13 species of whales, the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling were listed. The division of whales into large and small whales is politically and under international law motivated and has no scientific or taxonomic background. There is also no clear limit to body length when distinguishing between large and small cetaceans. Some species of small whales, such as the killer whale or the baird whale, reach or exceed the size of the minke whale , the smallest species of large whale.
Almost all large whales are among the baleen whales , conversely, they comprise the most representative of this group - only the pygmy right whale and described only in 2003 Omura's whale are not considered great whales. The only toothed whale species that has been assigned to the large whales is the sperm whale .
Great whale species
The large whales include the following species:
- Bowhead whale ( Balaena mysticetus )
- Northern Atlantic right whale ( Eubalaena glacialis )
- Northern Pacific right whale ( Eubalaena japonica )
- Southern right whale ( Eubalaena australis )
- Gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus )
- Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus )
- Fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus )
- Sei whale ( Balaenoptera borealis )
- Bryde's whale ( Balaenoptera edeni ; synonym : Balaenoptera brydei )
- Minke whale ( Balaenoptera acutorostrata )
- Southern minke whale ( Balaenoptera bonaerensis )
- Humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae )
- Sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus )
Individual evidence
- ↑ IWC (English): Small cetaceans
- ↑ IWC (English): The Great Whales