Pygmy Blue Whale

Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus 1758)

2009 California Academy of Sciences cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Balaenoptera musculus (Pygmy Blue Whale) is a species of mammals in the family rorquals. They are listed as endangered by COSEWIC and in cites appendix i. They are native to Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Atlantic Ocean. They are solitary carnivores. Individuals are known to live for 1320 months and can grow to 32.6 m. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on swimming and lift powered swimming to move around.

URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/endangered
Definition: A taxon is Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the \r\ncriteria A to E for Endangered, and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Source: https://species-registry.canada.ca/index-en.html#/species

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/CITES_I
Definition: Appendix I lists species that are the most endangered among CITES-listed animals and plants. They are threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for scientific research. In these exceptional cases, trade may take place provided it is authorized by the granting of both an import permit and an export permit (or re-export certificate). Article VII of the Convention provides for a number of exemptions to this general prohibition.
Source: https://www.speciesplus.net/#/taxon_concepts/10905/legal

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1906

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1903

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1904

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URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1902

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q81875
Definition: organism that eats mostly or exclusively animal tissue
Attribution: Crustacean body sizes

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/solitary
Definition: Solitary animals are those that spend a majority of their lives without others of their species, with possible exceptions for mating and raising their young. Antonyms for a solitary animal include a social animal or a colonial animal.
Attribution: https://www.definitions.net/definition/solitary+animal

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0036268
Definition: Self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through water, often by means of active fin movement.

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.

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EOL has data for 69 attributes, including:

body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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diet breadth
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/DietBreadth
- Definition: Number of dietary categories eaten by an organism.
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1
diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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crustaceans
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q25364
- Definition: subphylum of arthropods
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ecomorphological guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/EcomorphologicalGuild
- Definition: organisms that share certain morphological traits due to adaptation to similar environments and ecological roles
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nectonic
- URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/Nekton
- Definition: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
- Attribution: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:Nekton
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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Atlantic Ocean
- URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1902
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habitat breadth
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/HabitatBreadth
- Definition: Number of habitat layers used by an organism
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1
inter-birth interval
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/InterBirthInterval
- Definition: The length of time between successive births of a female.
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914 days
litters per year
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/LittersPerYear
- Definition: Number of litters per female per year
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0.41
mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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not monogamous
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/notMonogamous
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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Arctic Ocean
- URI: http://www.marineregions.org/mrgid/1906
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population group size
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PopulationGroupSize
- Definition: Number of individuals in a group that spends the majority of their time in a 24 hour cycle together
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1
prenatal development duration
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/PrenatalDevelopmentDuration
- Definition: The duration of the development from fertilized, deposited or implanted egg to hatching/birth. Corresponds to egg incubation duration in oviparous animals and to gestation period duration in viviparous animals.
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350 days

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Pygmy Blue Whale. View this species on GBIF

2009 California Academy of Sciences cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Pygmy Blue Whale includes 4 children: