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 musculus (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

Children

Balaenoptera musculus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Afrikaans: blouwalvis

Aleut: abugulikh; omgolia

Catalan: balena blava

Chukot: akhvorkhrikh; tnmerken-uiiut

Czech: plejtvák obrovský

Dutch: blauwe vinvis

English: blue rorqual; blue whale; common rorqual; finny whale; great blue whale; great northern rorqual; great rorqual; Ostende whale; Sibbald's rorqual; sulphurbottom whale sources: North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

French: baleine bleue; baleine d'Ostend; baleine jubarte; rorqual bleu; rorqual de Sibbald

German: Blauwal; Riesenwal; Schanelwal; Schwefelbauchwal

Icelandic: hafreydur; hrefna; steypireydr

Indonesian: laylan agi; paus biru

Italian: balenottera azzura

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

Kalaallisut: tunnolik

Korean: daewang-gorae

Malagasy: trozona manga

Norwegian: blaahval; heipe-reydur; rörqual

Portuguese: baleia azul

Russian: blyuval; bolshoi polosatik; goluboi kit; sinii kit

Spanish, Castillian: alfaguara; alfaware; ballena azul; gran rorcal; kila; rorcual azul; rorcual gigante

Swedish: blaval; jattenhval; muskel finnfisk

Yupik languages: takerrkak; takyshkok

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	Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam.
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	Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication. 4.
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	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	Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. (246): 1-259.
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.
ecology source	Fioravanti, T.; Maio, N.; Latini, L.; Splendiani, A.; Guarino, F. M.; Mezzasalma, M.; Petraccioli, A.; Cozzi, B.; Mazzariol, S.; Centelleghe, C.; Sciancalepore, G.; Pietroluongo, G.; Podestà, M.; Caputo Barucchi, V. (2022). Nothing is as it seems: genetic analyses on stranded fin whales unveil the presence of a fin-blue whale hybrid in the Mediterranean Sea (Balaenopteridae). The European Zoological Journal. 89(1): 590-600.
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 musculus (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:137090