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 Balaenopteridae > Genus Balaenoptera

Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Original genus

Balaena Linnaeus, 1758

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Balaenoptera*	Lacépède, 1804	accepted genus name

Species group names

*Balaenoptera musculus*	Van Beneden & Gervais, 1880	synonym

Children

Balaenoptera physalus physalus Tomilin, 1946

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Afrikaans: vinwalvis

Aleut: mangidakh; mangidadakh

Arabic: harcul chaii

Bulgarian: finvаl; Финвал sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Catalan: rorqual comú

Chukot: niltkhokkein uiiut; nilchoken biuu

Croatian: veliki kit

Czech: plejtvák myšok

Danish: Silde-Roren; finhval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Dutch: gewone vinvis; vinvis

English: finback whale; finner; herring whale; common finwhale; big finner; common finback whale; razor back; common rorqual; fin whale sources: North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

French: rorqual commun; baleine américaine; vraie baleine sources: Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.

German: Finnfisch; Schnabelwal; Finnwal

Greek: Πτεροφάλαινα; pterofálaina sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Hebrew: livyatan matzui; לויתן מצוי; לווייתן מצוי sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Icelandic: furehvaler; sildrek; finnhvaler; sildreki; hunfubaks; langreydur

Indonesian: paus sirip

Italian: balenottera comune; rorqual comune; rorqualo; balenottera fisallo; rorquallo

Japanese: ナガスクジラ; nagasu kujira sources: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. (2009 onwards). Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL). Accessed on 2018-11-21.

Kalaallisut: tunnolik; keporkarnak

Korean: cham-gorae

Koryak: vapakylichan

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

Malagasy: trozona amam-bombo

Maltese: baliena mbacca sources: SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 435.57 - Marine Mammals Protection Regulations. Malta. 12th August, 2003

Norwegian: sildrör; finefisk; sildehval; finnhval; finqval; finhval; loddehval; stor-hval; roren sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

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

Polish: finwal sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Portuguese: baleia-fina; baleia-comum

Russian: nastoiashchiy polosatik; obyknovennyi polosatik; сельдяной кит; финвал; finval; seldianoi polosatik sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Sami languages: reider

Slovenian: brazdasti kit sources: Davorin Tome

Spanish, Castillian: rorcual de aleta; ballena de aleta; kila; ballena fin; rorcual común; ballena fisalus; ballena boba

Swedish: sillhval; sillval; finnfisk; rörval

Turkish: fin balinasi; fin balinası; uzun balina sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Ukrainian: Фінвал sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Welsh: morfil asgellog llwyd sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Yupik languages: tykyshkok

Literature

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	Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. (246): 1-259.
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	Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam.
additional source	Carwardine, M., E. Hoyt, R. E. Fordyce and P. Gill. 1998. Whales, dolphins and porpoises. Time-Life Books. Nature Company Guides, USA. 288 p.
additional source	Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication. 4.
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	Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
additional source	IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
additional source	Thomas, M. L. H. (1983). Marine and coastal systems of the Quoddy Region, New Brunswick. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 64:1-306.
additional source	Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
additional source	King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554.
additional source	Muller, Y. (2004). Faune et flore du littoral du Nord, du Pas-de-Calais et de la Belgique: inventaire. [Coastal fauna and flora of the Nord, Pas-de-Calais and Belgium: inventory]. Commission Régionale de Biologie Région Nord Pas-de-Calais: France. 307 pp.
additional source	Schmidly, D. J. and B. Würsig. 2009. Mammals (Vertebrata: Mammalia) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1343–1352 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
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

External Links

Marine Life Information Network - UK

Citation

Fordyce, E.; Perrin, W.F. (2025). World Cetacea Database. Balaenoptera physalus (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:137091