Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrata > Infraphylum Gnathostomata > Megaclass Tetrapoda > Class Mammalia > Subclass Theria > Order Cetartiodactyla > Suborder Cetancodonta > Infraorder Cetacea > Superfamily Mysticeti > Family Balaenidae > Genus Balaena

Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Balaena*	Linnaeus, 1758	accepted genus name

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Aleut: kulema; kuliamilak; ugamachcach

Bulgarian: Grenlаndski kit; Гренландски кит sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Chukot: ittiv

Czech: velryba grónská

Danish: bartfisch; grönlandshval; rethval; sandhval; schlichteback

Dutch: Groenlandse walvis

English: Arctic right whale; baleine a tete d'arc; black right whale; bowhead whale; bunch-back whale; great polar whale; Greenland right whale; Greenland whale; whalebone whale; whale-fish sources: van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).;North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

Evenki: kallium

French: baleine; baleine de grande baie; baleine du Groenland; baleine franche; baleine franche boréale sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

German: Bogenkopf; Grönlandswal; Nordwal; Polarwal; Walfisch

Greek: Φάλαινα της Αρκτικής sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Icelandic: gröenlandshvalur; nordvalur; sletbacur; vatushalar

Italian: balena artica; balena della Groenlandia sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Japanese: hokkyoku kujira; serbio

Kalaallisut: akbek; arbavirsoak; arbek; sokalik

Latvian: walzius

Lithuanian: Grenlandinis banginis sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian: finqval; gronlandshval; grønlandshval; gronlandskhval; hvalfisk; sietback; sletbag; sletbak sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Bokmål: grønlandshval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Nynorsk: grønlandskval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Polish: wieloryb grenlandzki

Portuguese: baleia da Gronelândia

Russian: greenlandskiy kit; poliarskyi kit; гренландский; или полярный кит sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Slovenian: Grenlandski kit sources: Davorin Tome

Spanish, Castillian: ballena boreal; ballena de cabeza arqueada; ballena de Groenlandia sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Swedish: grönlandsval; hvalfisk; rättval

Turkish: Gronland balinası; Grönland balinası sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Ukrainian: Гренландський кит; Кит гренландський; полярний кит sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Yakut: kakhlim

Yupik languages: agkhovik; akhgvopik; kiralick

Literature

original description	Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. [The system of nature through the three kingdoms of nature, according to classes, orders, genera, species, with characters, differences, synonyms, places.]. Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. Holmiae [Stockholm]. 1(10) [iii], 824 p.
basis of record	van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376
additional source	Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam.
additional source	Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. (246): 1-259.
additional source	Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.
additional source	Perrin, W.F.; Würsig, B.; Thewissen, J.G.M. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Second edition. Academic Press: London. ISBN 978-0-12-373553-9. xxix, 1316 pp.
additional source	Mead, J. G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). Cetacea. In Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. 723--743.
additional source	IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
additional source	Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication. 4.
ecology source	Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. Scientific Data. 10(1).

Genbank

Citation

Fordyce, E.; Perrin, W.F. (2025). World Cetacea Database. Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758. Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137086