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 acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Balaenoptera*	Lacépède, 1804	accepted genus name

Children

Balaenoptera acutorostrata acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Afrikaans: minke-walvis

Aleut: agamakhchik

Catalan: rorqual d'aleta blanca

Chukot: kauchikan uiiut

Czech: plejtvák stikovitý

Danish: lille Rorhval; sildepisker; vågehval

Dutch: dwergfinvisch; dwergvinvis sources: Camphuysen, Kees

English: bagwhale; bay whale; beaked rorqual; common minke whale; Davidson's whale; dwarf minke whale; least rorqual; lesser finback; lesser piked whale; little finner; little piked whale; minke whale; Minkie's whale; northern minke whale; pikehead whale; rorqual aliblanco; sharp-headed finner whale; summer whale sources: van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).;North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

French: baleine d'été; balenoptere a bec aigu; petit rorqual; rorqual à museau pointu; rorqual à rostre; rorqual mineur

German: Spitzkopf-Finnfisch; Zwergwal

Greek: Ρυγχοφάλαινα sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Hebrew: לויתן גוץ sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Icelandic: hrafureydur; hrefna

Italian: balenottera minore; balenottera rostrata sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Japanese: koiwashi kujira; kupokaru; minku; ミンククジラ／コイワシクジラ sources: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. (2009 onwards). Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL). Accessed on 2018-11-21.

Kalaallisut: chikagulik

Korean: mingkeu-gorae

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

Malagasy: trozona maran-doha

Norwegian: minkehval; minkies hval; rebbehval; vaagehval; vaage-Qval; vågehval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

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

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

Portuguese: baleia minke; baleia-minke-ana

Russian: karlikovyi polosatik; malyi polosatika; minke; ostrogolovyi polosatik; ostromordyi polosatik; zalivov; или остроголовый полосатик; малый полосатик sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Slovenian: Ščukasti kit sources: Davorin Tome

Spanish, Castillian: ballena enana; ballena menor; ballena minke; rorcual aliblanco; rorcual de Minke; rorcual enano; rorcual menor; rorcual picudo; rorqual de aleta blanca; rorqual pequeño sources: Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).;PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Swedish: spetsnäbbad finnfisk; vikarehval; vikval; vinkval

Thai: plawan klaebkhribkhaodam

Turkish: bayağı minke balinası sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

Welsh: morfil minke; morfil pigfain sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Yupik languages: chikagulik; qungvughaq

Literature

original description	de Lacépède, B. G. E. (1804). Histoire naturelle des cétacées. In Buffon, Histoire naturelle. vol. 37:317.
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	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	Maio, N., Giovannotti, M., Caputo Barucchi, V. et. al. (2016). Haplotype characterization of a young stranded Common Minke Whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804): is the Mediterranean Sea a potential calving or nursery ground for the species?. Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy. 27(2).
additional source	IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
additional source	Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
additional source	Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. (246): 1-259.
additional source	Linkletter, L. E. (1977). A checklist of marine fauna and flora of the Bay of Fundy. Huntsman Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, N.B. 68: p.
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	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	Waring, G.T., J.M. Quintal and C.P. Fairfield (eds.). 2002. U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico marine mammal dtock assessments, 2002. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS- NE- 169. 318 p.
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.
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.
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 acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804. 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:137087