Mammals of the WorldCommon Minke Whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Balaenopteridae
- Genus
- Balaenoptera
- IUCN status
- LC
- Distribution
- Anguilla|Antarctica|Antigua and Barbuda|Argentina|Australia|Bahamas|Belgium|Bermuda|Brazil|Cape Verde|Canada|Chile|Cuba|Denmark|Dominica|Dominican Republic|France|French Guiana|Gambia|Greece|Greenland|Guadeloupe|Iceland|Indonesia|Ireland|Italy|Japan|North Korea|South Korea|Mauritania|Mexico|Morocco|Mozambique|Netherlands|New Caledonia|New Zealand|Norway|Papua New Guinea|Portugal|Madeira|Azores|Puerto Rico|Russia|Sint Maarten|Senegal|South Africa|Spain|Canary Islands|Taiwan|China|Turks and Caicos Islands|United Kingdom|United States|Uruguay|British Virgin Islands|United States Virgin Islands
- Realm
- Marine
Other names: Lesser Rorqual|Little Piked Whale|Sharp-headed Finner Whale|North Atlantic Minke Whale|North Pacific Minke Whale
About this species
The common minke whale or northern minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) belongs to minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the smallest species of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. Although first ignored by whalers due to its small size and low oil yield, it began to be exploited by various countries beginning in the early 20th century. As other species declined, larger numbers of common minke whales were caught, largely for their meat. (Wikipedia, general species account).
This species is known in the fossil record from the Pliocene epoch to the Quaternary period (age range: 4.7 million years ago to present day). Their prominent, upright, falcate dorsal fin averages about 30 cm (12 in) in height – range 7 to 77 cm (2.8 to 30.3 in) – and is set about two-thirds the way along the back. Occasionally fine ear stripes may be present behind the opening of the auditory meatus, while dark or light speckling or streaking can occur along the flanks as well as what are called tiger stripes – "parallel, dark, usually vertical stripes". (Wikipedia, general species account).
Description: Wildlife of sulawesi guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)