Blue whale: Difference between revisions

Blue whale; Temporal range: Early Pleistocene – Recent 1.5–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
	File:Anim1754 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
	Adult blue whale ; (Balaenoptera musculus)
	File:Blue whale size.svg
	Size compared to an average human
Conservation status
	File:Status iucn3.1 EN.svg; Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
	File:Status TNC G3.svg; Vulnerable (NatureServe)
Scientific classification edit
Missing taxonomy template (fix):	Balaenoptera
Species:	Template:Taxonomy/BalaenopteraB. musculus
Binomial name
	Template:Taxonomy/BalaenopteraBalaenoptera musculus; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
	B. m. brevicauda Ichihara, 1966; ?B. m. indica Blyth, 1859; B. m. intermedia Burmeister, 1871; B. m. musculus Linnaeus, 1758;
	File:Cypron-Range Balaenoptera musculus.svg
	Blue whale range (in blue)
Synonyms
	Balaena musculus Linnaeus, 1758; Balaenoptera gibbar Scoresby 1820; Pterobalaena gigas Van Beneden 1861; Physalus latirostris Flower 1864; Sibbaldius borealis Gray 1866; Flowerius gigas Lilljeborg 1867; Sibbaldius sulfureus Cope 1869; Balaenoptera sibbaldii Sars 1875;

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Latest revision as of 11:36, 16 May 2026

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The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a species of baleen whale and the largest marine mammal in the rorqual family Balaenopteridae. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9–30.5 m (98–100 ft) and weighing up to 190–200 t (190–200 long tons; 210–220 short tons), it is the largest animal known to have ever existed.^{[lower-alpha 1]} The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue on its upper surface and somewhat lighter underneath. Four subspecies are recognized: B. m. musculus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia in the Southern Ocean, B. m. brevicauda (the pygmy blue whale) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and B. m. indica in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.

In general, blue whale populations migrate between their summer feeding areas near the poles and their winter breeding grounds near the tropics. There is also evidence of year-round residencies, and partial or age- and sex-based migration. Blue whales are filter feeders; their diet consists almost exclusively of krill. They are generally solitary or gather in small groups, and have no well-defined social structure other than mother–calf bonds. Blue whales vocalize, with a fundamental frequency ranging from 8 to 25 Hz; their vocalizations may vary by region, season, behavior, and time of day.

The blue whale was abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans until the end of the 19th century. It was hunted almost to the point of extinction by whalers until the International Whaling Commission banned all blue whale hunting in 1966. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed blue whales as endangered as of 2018. Blue whales continue to face numerous man-made threats such as ship strikes, pollution, ocean noise, and climate change.

Taxonomy

Nomenclature

The genus name, Balaenoptera, means winged whale,^[8] while the species name, musculus, could mean "muscle" or a diminutive form of "mouse", possibly a pun by Carl Linnaeus^[8]^[9] when he named the species in Systema Naturae.^[10] One of the first published descriptions of a blue whale comes from Robert Sibbald's Phalainologia Nova,^[11] after Sibbald found a stranded whale in the estuary of the Firth of Forth, Scotland, in 1692. The name "blue whale" was derived from the Norwegian blåhval, coined by Svend Foyn shortly after he had perfected the harpoon gun. The Norwegian scientist G. O. Sars adopted it as the common name in 1874.^[12]

Blue whales were referred to as "Sibbald's rorqual", after Robert Sibbald, who first described the species.^[11] Whalers sometimes referred to them as "sulphur bottom" whales, as the bellies of some individuals are tinged with yellow.^[13] This tinge is due to a coating of huge numbers of diatoms.^[13] (Herman Melville briefly refers to "sulphur bottom" whales in his novel Moby-Dick.^[14])

Evolution

Template:Cladogram Blue whales are rorquals in the family Balaenopteridae. A 2018 analysis estimates that the Balaenopteridae family diverged from other families in between 10.48 and 4.98 million years ago during the late Miocene.^[15] The earliest discovered anatomically modern blue whale is a partial skull fossil from southern Italy identified as B. cf. musculus, dating to the Early Pleistocene, roughly 1.5–1.25 million years ago.^[1] The Australian pygmy blue whale diverged during the Last Glacial Maximum. Their more recent divergence has resulted in the subspecies having a relatively low genetic diversity,^[16] and New Zealand blue whales have an even lower genetic diversity.^[17]

Whole genome sequencing suggests that blue whales are most closely related to sei whales with gray whales as a sister group. This study also found significant gene flow between minke whales and the ancestors of the blue and sei whale. Blue whales also displayed high genetic diversity.^[15]

Hybridization

Blue whales are known to interbreed with fin whales.^[18] The earliest description of a possible hybrid between a blue whale and a fin whale was a 20 m (66 ft) anomalous female whale with the features of both the blue and the fin whales taken in the North Pacific.^[19] A whale captured off northwestern Spain in 1984, was found to have been the product of a blue whale mother and a fin whale father.^[20]

Two live blue-fin whale hybrids have since been documented in the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada), and in the Azores (Portugal).^[21] DNA tests done in Iceland on a blue whale killed in July 2018 by the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf., found that the whale was the offspring of a male fin whale and female blue whale;^[22] however, the results are pending independent testing and verification of the samples. Because the International Whaling Commission classified blue whales as a "Protection Stock", trading their meat is illegal, and the kill is an infraction that must be reported.^[23] Blue-fin hybrids have been detected from genetic analysis of whale meat samples taken from Japanese markets.^[24] Blue-fin whale hybrids are capable of being fertile. Molecular tests on a 21 m (70 ft) pregnant female whale caught off Iceland in 1986 found that it had a blue whale mother and a fin whale father, while its fetus was sired by a blue whale.^[25]

In 2024, a genome analysis of North Atlantic blue whales found evidence that approximately 3.5% of the blue whales' genome was derived from hybridization with fin whales. Gene flow was found to be unidirectional from fin whales to blue whales. Comparison with Antarctic blue whales showed that this hybridization began after the separation of the northern and southern populations. Despite their smaller size, fin whales have similar cruising and sprinting speeds to blue whales, which would allow fin males to complete courtship chases with blue females.^[26]

There is a reference to a humpback–blue whale hybrid in the South Pacific, attributed to marine biologist Michael Poole.^[8]^[27]^[28]

Subspecies and stocks

At least four subspecies of blue whale are traditionally recognized, some of which are divided into population stocks or "management units".^[29]^[30]^[31] Like many large rorquals, the blue whale is a cosmopolitan species.^[32] They have a worldwide distribution, but are mostly absent from the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean, Okhotsk, and Bering Sea.^[29]

Aerial photograph of an adult blue whale showing its length

Aerial view of adult blue whale

Northern subspecies (B. m. musculus)
- North Atlantic population – This population is mainly documented from New England along eastern Canada to Greenland, particularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, during summer, though some individuals may remain there all year. They also aggregate near Iceland and have increased their presence in the Norwegian Sea. They are reported to migrate south to the West Indies, the Azores and northwest Africa.^[29]
- Eastern North Pacific population – Whales in this region mostly feed off California's coast from summer to fall and then Oregon, Washington State, the Alaska Gyre and Aleutian Islands later in the fall. During winter and spring, blue whales migrate south to the waters of Mexico, mostly the Gulf of California, and the Costa Rica Dome, where they both feed and breed.^[29]
- Central/Western Pacific population – This stock is documented around the Kamchatka Peninsula during the summer; some individuals may remain there year-round. They have been recorded wintering in Hawaiian waters, though some can be found in the Gulf of Alaska during fall and early winter.^[29]
Northern Indian Ocean subspecies (B. m. indica) – This subspecies can be found year-round in the northwestern Indian Ocean, though some individuals have been recorded travelling to the Crozet Islands during between summer and fall.^[29]
Pygmy blue whale (B. m. brevicauda)
- Madagascar population – This population migrates between the Seychelles and Amirante Islands in the north and the Crozet Islands and Prince Edward Islands in the south where they feed, passing through the Mozambique Channel.^[29]
- Australia/Indonesia population – Whales in this region appear to winter off Indonesia and migrate to their summer feeding grounds off the coast of Western Australia, with major concentrations at Perth Canyon and an area stretching from the Great Australian Bight and Bass Strait.^[29]
- Eastern Australia/New Zealand population – This stock may reside in the Tasman Sea and the Lau Basin in winter and feed mostly in the South Taranaki Bight and off the coast of eastern North Island. Blue whales have been detected around New Zealand throughout the year.^[29]
Antarctic subspecies (B. m. intermedia) – This subspecies includes all populations found around the Antarctic. They have been recorded to travel as far north as the Eastern Tropical Pacific, the central Indian Ocean, and the waters of southwestern Australia and northern New Zealand.^[29]

Blue whales off the Chilean coast might be a separate subspecies based on their geographic separation, genetics, and unique song types.^[33]^[34]^[35] Chilean blue whales might overlap in the Eastern Tropical Pacific with Antarctica blue whales and Eastern North Pacific blue whales. Chilean blue whales are genetically differentiated from Antarctica blue whales such that interbreeding is unlikely. However, the genetic distinction is less between them and the Eastern North Pacific blue whale, hence there might be gene flow between the Southern and Northern Hemispheres.^[36] A 2019 study by Luis Pastene, Jorge Acevedo and Trevor Branch provided new morphometric data from a survey of 60 Chilean blue whales, hoping to address the debate about the possible distinction of this population from others in the Southern Hemisphere. Data from this study, based on whales collected in the 1965/1966 whaling season, shows that both the maximum and mean body length of Chilean blue whales lies between these values in pygmy and Antarctic blue whales. Data also indicates a potential difference in snout-eye measurements between the three, and a significant difference in fluke-anus length between the Chilean population and pygmy blue whales. This further confirms Chilean blue whales as a separate population, and implies that they do not fall under the same subspecies as the pygmy blue whale (B. m. brevicauda).^[37]

A 2024 genomic study of the global blue whale population found support for the subspecific status of Antarctic and Indo-western Pacific blue whales but not eastern Pacific blue whales. The study found "...divergence between the eastern North and eastern South Pacific, and among the eastern Indian Ocean, the western South Pacific and the northern Indian Ocean." and "no divergence within the Antarctic".^[38]

Description

File:Bluewhale2 noaa.jpg

A blue whale with its bow wave, showing the blowholes

The blue whale is a slender-bodied cetacean with a broad U-shaped head; thin, elongated flippers; a small sickle-shaped dorsal fin located close to the tail, and a large tail stock at the root of the wide and thin flukes. The upper jaw is lined with 70–400 black baleen plates less than 1 m (3.3 ft) in length. The throat region has 60–88 grooves which allows the skin to expand during feeding.^[8]^[9]^[39]^[31]^[40]^[41]^[42] It has two blowholes that can squirt 9.1–12 meters (30–39 ft) up in the air.^[8]^[39]^[31]^[40] The skin has a mottled grayish-blue coloration, appearing blue underwater.^[9]^[39]^[40] The mottling patterns near the dorsal fin vary between individuals.^[43]^[44]^[45] The underbelly has lighter pigmentation and can appear yellowish due to diatoms in the water,^[9]^[39]^[40] which historically earned them the nickname "sulphur bottom".^[14]^[46]

Size

Photograph of a blue whale skull

A blue whale skull measuring 5.79 meters (19.0 ft)

The blue whale is the largest animal known ever to have existed.^[47]^[48]^[49] Some studies have estimated that certain shastasaurid ichthyosaurs and the ancient whale Perucetus could have rivalled the blue whale in size, with Perucetus actually being heavier with a mean weight of 180 t (180 long tons; 200 short tons).^[5]^[50] However, these estimates were based on fragmentary remains, and the proposed size for Perucetus was disputed by studies in 2024.^[6] Other studies estimate that, on land, large sauropods like Bruhathkayosaurus (mean weight: 110–170 tons) and Maraapunisaurus (mean weight: 80–120 tons) might have rivalled the blue whale, with the former even exceeding the blue whale based on its most liberal estimates (240 tons). However, these estimates were based on even more fragmentary specimens that had disintegrated by the time estimates could be made.^[7]

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) whaling database reports 88 individuals longer than 30 meters (98 ft), including one of 33 meters (108 ft).^[51] The record length was measured at 33.6 meters (110 ft).^[52] The Discovery Committee reported lengths up to 31 meters (102 ft).^[53] The longest scientifically measured individual blue whale was 29.9–30.5 meters (98–100 ft) from rostrum tip to tail notch.^[54]^[52]^[51]^[55] Female blue whales are larger than males.^[39]^[31]^[56] Hydrodynamic models suggest a blue whale could not exceed 33 metres (108 ft) because of metabolic and energy constraints.^[57] The existence of blue whales exceeding 30.5 meters (100 ft) in length has been questioned.^[51]^[55]

The average length of sexually mature female blue whales is 22.0 meters (72.1 ft) for Eastern North Pacific blue whales, 24 meters (79 ft) for central and western North Pacific blue whales, 21–24 meters (68–78 ft) for North Atlantic blue whales, 25.4–26.6 meters (83.4–87.3 ft) for Antarctic blue whales, 23.5 meters (77.1 ft) for Chilean blue whales, and 21.3 meters (69.9 ft) for pygmy blue whales.^[51]^[58]^[59] Length measurements of blue whales in the Gulf of California suggest a mean length of 20.49 meters (67.2 ft) and a maximum length of 29.01 meters (95.2 ft), which is comparable to Northeast Pacific blue whales. The maximum length of the individual is estimated by another estimate to be between 27.53–30.50 meters (90.3–100.1 ft), with a probability of 0.95.^[60]

In the Northern Hemisphere, males weigh an average 100 metric tons (220,000 lb) and females 112 metric tons (247,000 lb). Eastern North Pacific blue whale males average 88.5 tonnes (195,000 lb) and females 100 tonnes (220,000 lb). Antarctic males average 112 tonnes (247,000 lb) and females 130 tonnes (290,000 lb). Pygmy blue whale males average 83.5 tonnes (184,000 lb) to 99 tonnes (218,000 lb).^[61] The average weight of an adult blue whale is between 72–135 metric tons (159,000–298,000 lb).^[31] The weight of the heart of a stranded North Atlantic blue whale was 180 kg (400 lb), the largest known in any animal.^[62] The brain of a blue whale, which weighed 50.9 tonnes (112,000 lb), weighed about 3.636 kg (8.02 lb).^[42] The record-holder female blue whale was caught in the Southern Ocean on March 20, 1947, and was recorded as measuring 27.6 meters (91 ft) long and weighing 190 tonnes (210 short tons),^[55]^[63]^[61] with estimates of up to 199 tonnes (220 short tons).^[51]

In 2024, Motani and Pyenson calculated the body mass of blue whales at different lengths, compiling records of their sizes from previous academic literatures and using regression analyses and volumetric analyses. A 25 metres (82 ft) long individual was estimated to weigh approximately 101–119 tonnes (111–131 short tons), while a 30 metres (98 ft) long individual was estimated to weigh approximately 184–205 tonnes (203–226 short tons). Considering that the largest blue whale was indeed 33 metres (108 ft) long, they estimated that a blue whale of such length would have weighed approximately 252–273 tonnes (278–301 short tons).^[6] In 2025, Paul and Larramendi estimated that blue whales could exceed 200 tonnes (220 short tons), but likely not by as much as Motani and Pyenson documented.^[55]

During the harvest of a female blue whale in 1922, Messrs. Irvin and Johnson collected a fetus that is now 70% preserved and used for educational purposes. Some shrinkage may have occurred, making visualization of some features fairly difficult. Nonetheless it indicates that a blue whale fetus is approximately 133 mm long at the juncture between the embryonic and fetal phases of development. This fetus represents the youngest specimen recorded.^[64]

The male blue whale has the largest penis in the animal kingdom, at around 3 m (9.8 ft) long and 12 in (30 cm) wide.^[65]^[42]

Life span

Blue whales live around 80–90 years or more.^[39]^[66]^[31] Scientists look at a blue whale's earwax or ear plug to estimate its age. Each year, a light and dark layer of wax is laid corresponding with fasting during migration and feeding time. Each set is thus an indicator of age.^[67]^[68]^[69] The oldest blue whale discovered using this method was found to be 110 years old.^[70]^[71]^[72]^[66]Template:New archival link needed^[73]Template:New archival link needed The maximum age of a pygmy blue whale determined this way is 73 years.^[74] Long-term identification studies in the Northeast Pacific suggest that they live for at least 40–45 years.^[39]^[32] In addition, female blue whales develop scars or corpora albicantia on their ovaries every time they ovulate.^[75] In a female pygmy blue whale, one corpus albicans is formed on average every 2.6 years.^[74]

Behavior and ecology

Photograph of a whale blowing

The blow of a blue whale

The blue whale is usually solitary, but can be found in pairs. When productivity is high enough, blue whales can be seen in gatherings of more than 50 individuals.^[39] Populations may go on long migrations, traveling to their summer feeding grounds towards the poles and then heading to their winter breeding grounds in more equatorial waters.^[76] The animals appear to use memory to locate the best feeding areas.^[77] There is evidence of alternative strategies, such as year-round residency, and partial (where only some individuals migrate) or age/sex-based migration. Some whales have been recorded feeding in breeding grounds.^[78] Blue whale typically swim at 2–8 km/h (1.2–5.0 mph) but may swim faster at 32–48 km/h (20–30 mph) during encounters with boats, predators or other individuals.^[52]^[79] However, it is unclear whether the blue whale can actually reach a speed of 10.9 m/s (39 km/h; 24 mph), and the most reliably reported maximum speed was 7.5 m/s (27 km/h; 17 mph).^[80] The maximum speed derived from satellite tracking data was 5.3 m/s (19 km/h; 12 mph).^[81] Their massive size limits their ability to breach.^[80]

The greatest dive depth reported from tagged blue whales was 315 meters (1,033 ft).^[82] Their theoretical aerobic dive limit was estimated at 31.2 minutes,^[83] however, the longest dive measured was 15.2 minutes.^[82] The deepest confirmed dive from a pygmy blue whale was 506 meters (1,660 ft).^[84] A blue whale's heart rate can drop to 2 beats per minute (bpm) at deep depths, but upon surfacing, can rise to 37 bpm, which is close to its peak heart rate.^[85]

Diet and feeding

Photograph blue whale near surface with throat bulging

Blue whale near the surface after feeding

The blue whale's diet consists almost exclusively of krill, which they capture through lunge feeding, where they swim towards krill at high speeds with their mouths open up to 80 degrees.^[39]^[82] They may engulf 220 metric tons (220 long tons; 240 short tons) of water at one time.^[86] They squeeze the water out through their baleen plates with pressure from the throat pouch and tongue, and swallow the remaining krill.^[39]^[82] Blue whales have been recorded making 180° rolls during lunge-feeding, possibly allowing them to search the prey field and find the densest patches.^[87]

While pursuing krill patches, blue whales maximize their calorie intake by increasing the number of lunges while selecting the thickest patches. This provides them enough energy for everyday activities while storing additional energy necessary for migration and reproduction. Due to their size blue whales have larger energetic demands than most animals, resulting in their need for this specific feeding habit.^[88] Blue whales have to engulf densities greater than 100 krill/m³ to maintain the cost of lunge feeding.^[82]^[89] They can consume 34,776–1,912,680 kilojoules (8,312–457,141 kcal) from one mouthful of krill, which can provide up to 240 times more energy than used in a single lunge.^[82] It is estimated that an average-sized blue whale must consume 1,120 ± 359 kilograms (2,469 ± 791 lb) of krill a day.^[90]^[91] On average, a blue whale eats 4 t (3.9 long tons; 4.4 short tons) each day.^[66]

In the southern ocean, blue whales feed on Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). In the South Australia, pygmy blue whales (B. m. brevicauda) feeds on Nyctiphanes australis.^[92] In California, they feed mostly on Thysanoessa spinifera, but also less commonly on North pacific krill (Euphausia pacifica).^[93] Research of the Eastern North Pacific population shows that when diving to feed on krill, the whales reach an average depth of 201 meters, with dives lasting 9.8 minutes on average.^[92]

While most blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill, the Northern Indian Ocean subspecies (B. m. indica) instead feeds predominantly on sergestid shrimp. To do so, they dive deeper and for longer periods of time than blue whales in other regions of the world, with dives of 10.7 minutes on average, and a hypothesized dive depth of about 300 meters. Fecal analysis also found the presence of fish, krill, amphipods, cephalopods, and scyphozoan jellyfish in their diet.^[92]

Blue whales appear to avoid directly competing with other baleen whales.^[94]^[95]^[96] Different whale species select different feeding spaces and times as well as different prey species.^[86]^[97]^[98] In the Southern Ocean, baleen whales appear to feed on Antarctic krill of different sizes, which may lessen competition between them.^[99]

Blue whale feeding habits may differ due to situational disturbances, like environmental shifts or human interference. This can cause a change in diet due to stress response. Due to these changing situations, there was a study performed on blue whales measuring cortisol levels and comparing them with the levels of stressed individuals, it gave a closer look to the reasoning behind their diet and behavioral changes.^[100]

Reproduction and birth

Photograph of a blue whale calf and its mother

A blue whale calf with its mother

The age of sexual maturity in blue whales is thought to be between 5 and 15 years,^[101]^[52] with females reaching an average of 10 years and males reaching an average of 12 years.^[102] In the Northern Hemisphere, the length at which they reach maturity is 21–23 meters (69–75 ft) for females and 20–21 meters (66–69 ft) for males. In the Southern Hemisphere, the length of maturity is 23–24 meters (75–79 ft) and 22 meters (72 ft) for females and males respectively.^[39]^[32] Male pygmy blue whales average 18.7 meters (61.4 ft) at sexual maturity.^[103]^[104] Female pygmy blue whales are 21.0–21.7 meters (68.9–71.2 ft) in length^[58] and roughly 10 years old at the age of sexual maturity.^[58]^[59]^[105] Since corpora are added every ~2.5 years after sexual maturity, physical maturity is assumed to occur at 35 years.^[106] Little is known about mating behavior, or breeding and birthing areas.^[49]^[32] Blue whales appear to be polygynous, with males competing for females.^[32]^[107] A male blue whale typically trails a female and will fight off potential rivals.^[108] The species mates from fall to winter.^[49]^[32]

Pregnant females eat roughly four percent of their body weight daily,^[109] amounting to 60% of their overall body weight throughout summer foraging periods.^[32]^[110] Gestation may last 10–12 months with calves being 6–7 meters (20–23 ft) long and weighing 2–3 metric tons (2.0–3.0 long tons; 2.2–3.3 short tons) at birth.^[32] Estimates suggest that because calves require 2–4 kilograms (4.4–8.8 lb) milk per kg of mass gain, blue whales likely produce 220 kilograms (490 lb) of milk per day (ranging from 110 to 320 kilograms (240 to 710 lb) of milk per day).^[111] The first video of a calf thought to be nursing was filmed in New Zealand in 2016.^[112] Calves may be weaned when they reach 6–8 months old at a length of 16 meters (53 ft).^[32] A newborn blue whale calf gains approximately 90 kilograms (200 lb) per day.^[31] They gain roughly 37,500 pounds (17,000 kg) during the weaning period.^[48] Interbirth periods last two to three years;^[32] they average 2.6 years in pygmy blue whales.^[74] Mother-calf pairings are infrequently observed, and this may be due to mothers birthing and weaning their young in-between their entry and return to their summer feeding grounds.^[113]

Vocalizations

Blue whales produce some of the loudest and lowest frequency vocalizations in the animal kingdom,^[29] and their inner ears appear well adapted for detecting low-frequency sounds.^[114] The fundamental frequency for blue whale vocalizations ranges from 8 to 25 Hz.^[115] The maximum loudness is 188 dB.^[39]^[32] Blue whale songs vary between populations.^[116]^[117]

Vocalizations produced by the Eastern North Pacific population have been well studied. This population produces pulsed calls ("A") and tonal calls ("B"), upswept tones that precede type B calls ("C") and separate downswept tones ("D").^[118]^[119] A and B calls are often produced in repeated co-occurring sequences and sung only by males, suggesting a reproductive function.^[119]^[120] D calls may have multiple functions. They are produced by both sexes during social interactions while feeding.^[120]^[121] and by males when competing for mates.^[108]

Blue whale calls recorded off Sri Lanka have a three-unit phrase. The first unit is a 19.8 to 43.5 Hz pulsive call, and is normally 17.9 ± 5.2 seconds long. The second unit is a 55.9 to 72.4 Hz FM upsweep that is 13.8 ± 1.1 seconds long. The final unit is 28.5 ± 1.6 seconds long with a tone of 108 to 104.7 Hz.^[122] A blue whale call recorded off Madagascar, a two-unit phrase,^[123] consists of 5–7 pulses with a center frequency of 35.1 ± 0.7 Hz lasting 4.4 ± 0.5 seconds proceeding a 35 ± 0 Hz tone that is 10.9 ± 1.1 seconds long.^[122] In the Southern Ocean, blue whales produce 18-second vocals which start with a 9-second-long, 27 Hz tone, and then a 1-second downsweep to 19 Hz, followed by a downsweep further to 18 Hz.^[124]^[125] Other vocalizations include 1–4 second long, frequency-modulated calls with a frequency of 80 and 38 Hz.^[125]^[126]

There is evidence that some blue whale songs have temporally declined in tonal frequency.^[127]^[128]^[129] The vocalization of blue whales in the Eastern North Pacific decreased in tonal frequency by 31% from the early 1960s to the early 21st century.^[127]^[128] The frequency of pygmy blue whales in the Antarctic has decreased by a few tenths of a hertz every year starting in 2002.^[129] It is possible that as blue whale populations recover from whaling, there is increasing sexual selection pressure (i.e., a lower frequency indicates a larger body size).^[128] In February 2025, a study^[130] tracing "more than six years of acoustic monitoring" off of California, researchers found that during a heatwave, the blue whales were vocalizing less often, potentially due to needing to spend their energy trying to find food that is increasingly scarce due to the effects of climate change.^[131] A June 2022 study suggested that the decline in song frequency in blue whales is simply a cultural phenomenon.^[117]

Predators

There is no well-documented natural predator of blue whales. The only documented attacks on blue whales involve orcas. Because killing a blue whale requires considerable effort and coordination, orcas often target calves. The rate of fatal attacks by orcas is unknown.

Photograph-identification studies of blue whales have estimated that a number of the individuals in the Gulf of California have rake-like scars, indicative of encounters with orcas.^[132] Off southeastern Australia, 3.7% of blue whales photographed had rake marks and 42.1% of photographed pygmy blue whales off Western Australia had rake marks.^[133] A blue whale mother and calf were first observed being chased at high speeds by orcas off southeastern Australia.^[134] The first documented attack occurred in 1977 off southwestern Baja California, Mexico, but the injured whale escaped after five hours.^[135] Four more blue whales were documented as being chased by a group of orcas between 1982 and 2003.^[136] In September 2003, a group of orcas in the Eastern Tropical Pacific was encountered feeding on a recently killed blue whale calf.^[137] In March 2014, a commercial whale watch boat operator recorded an incident involving a group of orcas harassing a blue whale in Monterey Bay. The blue whale defended itself by slapping its tail.^[138] A similar incident was recorded by a drone in Monterey Bay in May 2017.^[139] The first direct observations of orca attacks occurred off the south coast of Western Australia, two in 2019 and one more in 2021. The first victim was estimated to be an adult between 18–22 meters (59–72 ft).^[140]

Infestations and health threats

In Antarctic waters, blue whales accumulate diatoms of the species Cocconeis ceticola and the genera Navicola, which are normally removed when the whales enter warmer waters. Barnacles such as Coronula diadema, Coronula reginae, and Cryptolepas rhachianecti, latch on to whale skin deep enough to leave behind a pit if removed. Whale lice species make their home in cracks of the skin and are relatively harmless. The copepod species Pennella balaenopterae digs in and attaches itself to the blubber to feed on. Intestinal parasites include the trematode genera Ogmogaster and Lecithodesmus; the tapeworm genera Priapocephalus, Phyllobotrium, Tetrabothrius, Diphyllobotrium, and Diplogonoporus; and the thorny-headed worm genus Bolbosoma. In the North Atlantic, blue whales also contain the protozoans Entamoeba, Giardia and Balantidium.^[141]^[31]

Conservation

The global blue whale population is estimated to be 5,000–15,000 mature individuals^{[citation needed]} and 10,000–25,000 total as of 2015.^[31] By comparison, there were at least 140,000 mature whales in 1926. There are an estimated total of 1,000–3,000 whales in the North Atlantic, 3,000–5,000 in the North Pacific, and 5,000–8,000 in the Antarctic. There are possibly 1,000–3,000 whales in the eastern South Pacific while the pygmy blue whale may number 2,000–5,000 individuals.^[2] Blue whales have been protected in areas of the Southern Hemisphere since 1939. In 1955, they were given complete protection in the North Atlantic under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling; this protection was extended to the Antarctic in 1965 and the North Pacific in 1966.^[142]^[143] The protected status of North Atlantic blue whales was not recognized by Iceland until 1960.^[144] In the United States, the species is protected under the Endangered Species Act.^[76]

Blue whales are formally classified as endangered under both the U.S. Endangered Species Act^[145] and the IUCN Red List.^[2] They are also listed on Appendix I under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)^[4] and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.^[146] Although, for some populations, there is not enough information on current abundance trends (e.g., pygmy blue whales), others are critically endangered (e.g., Antarctic blue whales).^[147]^[148]

Threats

File:FMIB 34640 Large Hump-Back -sic- Whale, 83 Feet Long.jpeg

Dead blue whale on flensing platform

In 2017, DNA evidence was used to identify whale bones at Icelandic archaeological sites. Of the 124 bones analyzed more than 50% were from blue whales and some dated as far back as 900 CE. This, and other evidence, suggests that Icelanders were hunting whales as early as the 9th century, just as the settlement of Iceland began. Thus Icelanders would have been among the earliest known humans to hunt the blue whale.^[149]

Blue whales were initially difficult to hunt because of their size and speed.^[29] This began to change in the mid-19th century with the development of harpoons that can be shot as projectiles.^[150] Blue whale whaling peaked between 1930 and 1931 with 30,000 animals taken. Harvesting of the species was particularly high in the Antarctic, with 350,000–360,000 whales taken in the first half of the 20th century. In addition, 11,000 North Atlantic whales (mostly around Iceland) and 9,500 North Pacific whales were killed during the same period.^[32] The International Whaling Commission banned all hunting of blue whales in 1966 and gave them worldwide protection.^[151] However, the Soviet Union continued to illegally hunt blue whales and other species up until the 1970s.^[152]

File:Blue whale ship strike death.jpg

Researchers examine a dead blue whale killed by collision with a ship

Ship strikes are a significant mortality factor for blue whales, especially off the U.S. West Coast.^[153] A total of 17 blue whales were killed or suspected to have been killed by ships between 1998 and 2019 off the U.S. West Coast.^[29] Five deaths in 2007 off California were considered an unusual mortality event, as defined under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.^[153]^[154] Lethal ship strikes are also a problem in Sri Lankan waters, where their habitat intersects with one of the world's most active shipping routes.^[155] Here, strikes caused the deaths of eleven blue whales in 2010 and 2012,^[156] and at least two in 2014.^[157] Ship-strike mortality claimed the lives of two blue whales off southern Chile in the 2010s.^[158]^[159] Possible measures for reducing future ship strikes include better predictive models of whale distribution, changes in shipping lanes, vessel speed reductions, and seasonal and dynamic management of shipping lanes.^[160]^[161] Few cases of blue whale entanglement in commercial fishing gear have been documented. The first report in the U.S. occurred off California in 2015, reportedly some type of deep-water trap/pot fishery.^[162] Three more entanglement cases were reported in 2016.^[163] In Sri Lanka, a blue whale was documented with a net wrapped through its mouth, along the sides of its body, and wound around its tail.^[164]

Increasing man-made underwater noise impacts blue whales.^[165]^[166] They may be exposed to noise from commercial shipping^[167]^[168] and seismic surveys as a part of oil and gas exploration.^[169]^[170] Blue whales in the Southern California Bight decreased calling in the presence of mid-frequency active (MFA) sonar.^[171] Exposure to simulated MFA sonar was found to interrupt blue whale deep-dive feeding, but no changes in behavior were observed in individuals feeding at shallower depths. The responses also depended on the animal's behavioral state, its (horizontal) distance from the sound source and the availability of prey.^[172]

The potential impacts of pollutants on blue whales is unknown. However, because blue whales feed low on the food chain, there is a lesser chance for bioaccumulation of organic chemical contaminants.^[173] Analysis of the earwax of a male blue whale killed by a collision with a ship off the coast of California showed contaminants like pesticides, flame retardants, and mercury. Reconstructed persistent organic pollutant (POP) profiles suggested that a substantial maternal transfer occurred during gestation and/or lactation.^[174] Male blue whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, were found to have higher concentrations of PCBs, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), metabolites, and several other organochlorine compounds relative to females, reflecting maternal transfer of these persistent contaminants from females into young.^[175]

Note

↑ The extinct whale species Perucetus colossus (described in 2023) has been suggested as a potential contender of the blue whale in size,^[5] however, this was later disputed in 2024.^[6] Several extinct dinosaurs may also have reached a similar mass.^[7]

References

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Blue whale vocalizations – Cornell Lab of Ornithology—Bioacoustics Research Program (archived 26 February 2015)
Blue whale video clips and news from the BBC – BBC Wildlife Finder
Voices in the Sea – Sounds of the Blue Whale
NOAA Stock Assessments
Life of a Hunter: Blue Whale Archived 31 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine – BBC America
Living With Predators – BBC America

Template:Cetacea Template:Taxonbar

[8] The extinct whale species Perucetus colossus (described in 2023) has been suggested as a potential contender of the blue whale in size,^[5] however, this was later disputed in 2024.^[6] Several extinct dinosaurs may also have reached a similar mass.^[7]

[Bianucci_etal_2019-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Citation/CS1/Suggestions' not found.

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[NS-3] Template:Cite NatureServe

[CITES-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Template:Cite Species+

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[Bruhathkayosaurus2023-7] 7.0 ^7.1 Paul, Gregory S.; Larramendi, Asier (11 April 2023). "Body mass estimate of Bruhathkayosaurus and other fragmentary sauropod remains suggest the largest land animals were about as big as the greatest whales". Lethaia. 56 (2): 1–11. Bibcode:2023Letha..56..2.5P. doi:10.18261/let.56.2.5. ISSN 0024-1164. S2CID 259782734 Check |s2cid= value (help).

[Reeves_etal_2002-9] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 ^8.3 ^8.4 Reeves, R. R.; Stewart, P. J.; Clapham, J.; Powell, J. A. (2002). Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the eastern North Pacific and adjacent Arctic waters: A guide to their identification. New York: Knopf. pp. 234–237.

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[Linnaeus_1758-11] Linnaeus, Carl (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Stockholm, Holmia: Laurentius Salvius. p. 824.

[Sibbald_1692-12] 11.0 ^11.1 Sibbald, Robert (1692). "Phalainologia Nova". Blue Whale ("Balaenoptera Musculus"): 675–678.

[Bortolotti_2008-13] Bortolotti, D. (2008). Wild Blue: A Natural History of the World's Largest Animal. New York: St. Martin's Press.

[:0-14] 13.0 ^13.1 Bennett, A G (1920). "On the occurrence of diatoms on the skin of whales". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 91 (641): 352–357. doi:10.1098/rspb.1920.0021.

[Melville_1851-15] 14.0 ^14.1 Melville, H. (1851). Moby-Dick. New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 398.

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[Barlow_etal_2018-18] Barlow, D. R.; Torres, L. G.; Hodge, K. B.; Steel, D.; Baker, C. S.; Chandler, T. E.; Bott, N.; Constantine, R.; Double, M. C.; Gill, P.; Glasgow, D.; Hamner, R. M.; Lilley, C.; Ogle, M.; Olson, P. A. (2018). "Documentation of a New Zealand blue whale population based on multiple lines of evidence". Endangered Species Research. 36: 27–40. Bibcode:2018ESRes..36...27B. doi:10.3354/esr00891. hdl:2292/49145.

[19] This may have already been known to Icelanders in the 17th century, see Lindquist, Ole (1997). Peasant fisherman whaling in the Northeast Atlantic area, ca 900-1900 AD (PDF). Akureyri: Háskólinn á Akureyri. p. 27. ISBN 9979-834-10-2. Retrieved 16 April 2025.

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[Rankin_etal_2005-126] 125.0 ^125.1 Rankin, S.; Ljungblad, D.; Clark, C.; Kato, H. (2023). "Vocalisations of Antarctic blue whales, Balaenoptera musculus intermedia, recorded during the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 IWC/SOWER circumpolar cruises, Area V, Antarctica". Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. 7: 13–20. doi:10.47536/jcrm.v7i1.752. S2CID 43993242.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Short description|Baleen whale, largest animal ever known}}
+{{Short description|Species of whale; largest animal known}}
 {{Other uses}}
 {{Pp|small=yes}}
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
 {{Speciesbox
-| fossil_range = [[Calabrian (stage)|Early Pleistocene]] – Recent {{fossil range|1.5|0}}
+| fossil_range = [[Calabrian (stage)|Early Pleistocene]] – Recent {{fossil range|1.5|0|ref=<ref name="Bianucci_etal_2019" />}}
 | status = EN
 | status_system = IUCN3.1
-| status_ref =<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Cooke, J.G. |year=2018 |errata=2019 |title=''Balaenoptera musculus'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T2477A156923585 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T2477A156923585.en |access-date=13 June 2024}}</ref>
+| status_ref =<ref name="iucn">{{cite iucn |author=Cooke, J.G. |year=2018 |errata=2019 |title=''Balaenoptera musculus'' |volume=2018 |article-number=e.T2477A156923585 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T2477A156923585.en |access-date=13 June 2024}}</ref>
-| status2 = CITES_A1
+| status2 = G3
-| status2_system = CITES
+| status2_system = TNC
-| status2_ref = <ref>{{cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=14 January 2022|website=cites.org}}</ref>
+| status2_ref = <ref name=NS>{{cite NatureServe |id=2.101880 |title=''Balaenoptera musculus'' |access-date=16 May 2026}}</ref>
+| status3 = CITES_A1
+| status3_system = CITES
+| status3_ref = <ref name=CITES>{{cite Species+ |id=10905 |title=''Balaenoptera musculus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) |access-date=16 May 2026}}</ref>
 | image = Anim1754 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
 | image_caption = {{longitem|Adult blue whale <br />(''Balaenoptera musculus'')}}
@@ Line 40: / Line 43: @@
 }}
-The '''blue whale''' ('''''Balaenoptera musculus''''') is a [[marine mammal]] and a [[baleen whale]]. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of {{cvt|29.9|m}} and weighing up to {{cvt|199|t|sp=}}, it is the [[Largest and heaviest animals|largest animal known ever to have existed]].{{efn|The extinct whale species ''[[Perucetus]] colossus'' (described in 2023) has been suggested as a potential contender of the blue whale in size,<ref name="AT23">{{cite journal|last1=Bianucci|first1=G.|last2=Lambert|first2=O.|last3=Urbina|first3=M.|last4=Merella|first4=M.|last5=Collareta|first5=A.|last6=Bennion|first6=R.|last7=Salas-Gismondi|first7=R.|last8=Benites-Palomino|first8=A.|last9=Post|first9=K.|last10=de Muizon|first10=C.|last11=Bosio|first11=G.|last12=Di Celma|first12=C.|last13=Malinverno|first13=E.|last14=Pierantoni|first14=P.P.|last15=Villa|first15=I.M.|last16=Amson|first16=E.| year=2023|title=A heavyweight early whale pushes the boundaries of vertebrate morphology|journal=Nature|volume=620 |issue=7975 |pages=824–829 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06381-1|pmid=37532931 |bibcode=2023Natur.620..824B |s2cid=260433513 |hdl=10281/434998|hdl-access=free}}</ref> however, this was later disputed in 2024.<ref name=MP24/> Several extinct dinosaurs may also have reached a similar mass to the blue whale.<ref name="Bruhathkayosaurus2023"/>}} The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue on its upper surface and somewhat lighter underneath. Four [[subspecies]] are recognized: ''B. m. musculus'' in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, ''B. m. intermedia'' in the Southern Ocean, ''B. m. brevicauda'' (the [[pygmy blue whale]]) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and ''B. m. indica'' in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.
+The '''blue whale''' ('''''Balaenoptera musculus''''') is a [[species]] of [[baleen whale]] and the largest [[marine mammal]] in the [[rorqual]] family [[Balaenopteridae]]. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of {{cvt|29.9|–|30.5|m}} and weighing up to {{cvt|190|–|200|t|sp=}}, it is the [[largest and heaviest animals|largest animal known to have ever existed]].{{efn|The extinct whale species ''[[Perucetus]] colossus'' (described in 2023) has been suggested as a potential contender of the blue whale in size,<ref name="AT23">{{cite journal|last1=Bianucci|first1=G.|last2=Lambert|first2=O.|last3=Urbina|first3=M.|last4=Merella|first4=M.|last5=Collareta|first5=A.|last6=Bennion|first6=R.|last7=Salas-Gismondi|first7=R.|last8=Benites-Palomino|first8=A.|last9=Post|first9=K.|last10=de Muizon|first10=C.|last11=Bosio|first11=G.|last12=Di Celma|first12=C.|last13=Malinverno|first13=E.|last14=Pierantoni|first14=P.P.|last15=Villa|first15=I.M.|last16=Amson|first16=E.| year=2023|title=A heavyweight early whale pushes the boundaries of vertebrate morphology|journal=Nature|volume=620 |issue=7975 |pages=824–829 |doi=10.1038/s41586-023-06381-1|pmid=37532931 |bibcode=2023Natur.620..824B |s2cid=260433513 |hdl=10281/434998|hdl-access=free}}</ref> however, this was later disputed in 2024.<ref name=MP24/> Several extinct dinosaurs may also have reached a similar mass.<ref name="Bruhathkayosaurus2023"/>}} The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue on its upper surface and somewhat lighter underneath. Four [[subspecies]] are recognized: ''B. m. musculus'' in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, ''B. m. intermedia'' in the Southern Ocean, ''B. m. brevicauda'' (the [[pygmy blue whale]]) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and ''B. m. indica'' in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.
-In general, blue whale populations migrate between their summer feeding areas near the poles and their winter breeding grounds near the tropics. There is also evidence of year-round residencies, and partial or age/sex-based migration. Blue whales are [[filter feeder]]s; their diet consists almost exclusively of [[krill]]. They are generally solitary or gather in small groups, and have no well-defined social structure other than mother–calf bonds. Blue whales [[whale vocalization|vocalize]], with a [[fundamental frequency]] ranging from 8 to 25&nbsp;Hz; their vocalizations may vary by region, season, behavior, and time of day. [[Orca]]s are their only natural predators.
+In general, blue whale populations migrate between their summer feeding areas near the poles and their winter breeding grounds near the tropics. There is also evidence of year-round residencies, and partial or age- and sex-based migration. Blue whales are [[filter feeder]]s; their diet consists almost exclusively of [[krill]]. They are generally solitary or gather in small groups, and have no well-defined social structure other than mother–calf bonds. Blue whales [[whale vocalization|vocalize]], with a [[fundamental frequency]] ranging from 8 to 25&nbsp;Hz; their vocalizations may vary by region, season, behavior, and time of day.
-The blue whale was [[Cosmopolitan species|abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans]] until the end of the 19th&nbsp;century. It was hunted almost to the point of extinction by [[whaling|whalers]] until the [[International Whaling Commission]] banned all blue whale hunting in 1966. The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] has listed blue whales as [[Endangered species (IUCN status)|Endangered]] as of 2018. Blue whales continue to face numerous man-made threats such as [[Environmental effects of shipping#Wildlife collisions|ship strikes]], [[marine pollution|pollution]], [[Noise pollution#Marine life|ocean noise]], and [[climate change]].
+The blue whale was [[Cosmopolitan species|abundant in nearly all the Earth's oceans]] until the end of the 19th&nbsp;century. It was hunted almost to the point of extinction by [[whaling|whalers]] until the [[International Whaling Commission]] banned all blue whale hunting in 1966. The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] has listed blue whales as [[Endangered species (IUCN status)|endangered]] as of 2018. Blue whales continue to face numerous man-made threats such as [[Environmental effects of shipping#Wildlife collisions|ship strikes]], [[marine pollution|pollution]], [[Noise pollution#Marine life|ocean noise]], and [[climate change]].
 == Taxonomy ==
@@ Line 52: / Line 55: @@
 The genus name, ''[[Balaenoptera]]'', means ''winged whale,''<ref name=Reeves_etal_2002/> while the species name, ''musculus'', could mean "muscle" or a diminutive form of "mouse", possibly a pun by [[Carl Linnaeus]]<ref name=Reeves_etal_2002/><ref name=Calamb_Steig_1997/> when he named the species in ''[[Systema Naturae]]''.<ref name=Linnaeus_1758>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | date=1758 | title=Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | location=Stockholm, Holmia | publisher=Laurentius Salvius | page=824 | author-link=Carl Linnaeus}}</ref> One of the first published descriptions of a blue whale comes from [[Robert Sibbald]]'s ''Phalainologia Nova'',<ref name=Sibbald_1692>{{cite journal | author1=Sibbald, Robert | title=Phalainologia Nova | journal=Blue Whale ("Balaenoptera Musculus") | pages=675–678 | date=1692 | author-link=Robert Sibbald}}</ref> after Sibbald found a stranded whale in the estuary of the [[Firth of Forth]], Scotland, in 1692. The name "blue whale" was derived from the Norwegian ''blåhval'', coined by [[Svend Foyn]] shortly after he had perfected the harpoon gun. The Norwegian scientist [[G. O. Sars]] adopted it as the common name in 1874.<ref name=Bortolotti_2008>{{cite book|author1=Bortolotti, D.|title=Wild Blue: A Natural History of the World's Largest Animal | publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|location=New York|date=2008}}</ref>
-Blue whales were referred to as "Sibbald's rorqual", after Robert Sibbald, who first described the species.<ref name=Sibbald_1692/> Whalers sometimes referred to them as "sulphur bottom" whales, as the bellies of some individuals are tinged with yellow.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=A G |date=1920 |title=On the occurrence of diatoms on the skin of whales |url=https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.1920.0021 |journal=Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B |volume=91 |issue=641 |pages=352–357|doi=10.1098/rspb.1920.0021 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This tinge is due to a coating of huge numbers of [[diatoms]].<ref name=":0" /> ([[Herman Melville]] briefly refers to "sulphur bottom" whales in his novel ''[[Moby-Dick]]''.<ref name="Melville_1851" />)
+Blue whales were referred to as "Sibbald's rorqual", after Robert Sibbald, who first described the species.<ref name=Sibbald_1692/> Whalers sometimes referred to them as "sulphur bottom" whales, as the bellies of some individuals are tinged with yellow.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Bennett |first=A G |date=1920 |title=On the occurrence of diatoms on the skin of whales |journal=Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B |volume=91 |issue=641 |pages=352–357|doi=10.1098/rspb.1920.0021 |doi-access=free }}</ref> This tinge is due to a coating of huge numbers of [[diatoms]].<ref name=":0" /> ([[Herman Melville]] briefly refers to "sulphur bottom" whales in his novel ''[[Moby-Dick]]''.<ref name="Melville_1851" />)
 ===Evolution===
@@ Line 77: / Line 80: @@
 }}
 }}
-Blue whales are [[rorquals]] in the family [[Balaenopteridae]]. A 2018 analysis estimates that the Balaenopteridae family diverged from other families in between 10.48 and 4.98&nbsp;million years ago during the late [[Miocene]].<ref name=Arnason_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Árnason, U. | author2=Lammers, F. | author3=Kumar, V. | author4=Nilsson, M. A. | author5=Janke, A. | title=Whole-genome sequencing of the blue whale and other rorquals finds signatures for introgressive gene flow | journal=[[Science Advances]] | volume=4 | issue = 4 | pages=eaap9873 | date=2018| bibcode=2018SciA....4.9873A | doi=10.1126/sciadv.aap9873 | pmid=29632892 | pmc=5884691}}</ref> The earliest discovered anatomically modern blue whale is a partial skull fossil from southern [[Italy]] identified as ''B.'' cf. ''musculus'', dating to the Early [[Pleistocene]], roughly 1.5–1.25&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name=Bianucci_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Bianucci, G. | author2=Marx, F. G. | author3=Collareta, A. | author4=Di Stefano, A. | author5=Landini, W. | author6=Morigi, C. | author7=Varola, A. | title=Rise of the titans: baleen whales became giants earlier than thought | journal=[[Biology Letters]] | volume=15 | issue = 5 | page=20190175 | date=2019| doi=10.1098/rsbl.2019.0175 | pmid=31039728 | pmc=6548731}}</ref> The Australian [[pygmy blue whale]] diverged during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]]. Their more recent divergence has resulted in the subspecies having a relatively low genetic diversity,<ref name=Attard_etal_2015>{{cite journal | author1=Attard, C. R. M. | author2=Beheregaray, L. B. | author3=Jenner, K. C. S. | author4=Gill, P. C. | author5=Jenner, M.-N. M. | author6=Morrice, M. G. | author7=Teske, P. R. | author8=Moller, L. M. | title=Low genetic diversity in pygmy blue whales is due to climate-induced diversification rather than anthropogenic impacts | journal=Biology Letters | volume=11 | issue=5 | page=20141037 | date=2015| doi=10.1098/rsbl.2014.1037 | pmid=25948571 | pmc=4455730}}</ref> and New Zealand blue whales have an even lower genetic diversity.<ref name=Barlow_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Barlow, D. R. | author2=Torres, L. G. | author3=Hodge, K. B. | author4=Steel, D. | author5=Baker, C. S. | author6=Chandler, T. E. | author7=Bott, N. | author8=Constantine, R. | author9=Double, M. C. | author10=Gill, P. | author11=Glasgow, D. | author12=Hamner, R. M. | author13=Lilley, C. | author14=Ogle, M. | author15=Olson, P. A. | title=Documentation of a New Zealand blue whale population based on multiple lines of evidence | journal=Endangered Species Research | volume=36 | pages=27–40 | date=2018| doi=10.3354/esr00891 | doi-access=free}}</ref>
+Blue whales are [[rorquals]] in the family [[Balaenopteridae]]. A 2018 analysis estimates that the Balaenopteridae family diverged from other families in between 10.48 and 4.98&nbsp;million years ago during the late [[Miocene]].<ref name=Arnason_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Árnason, U. | author2=Lammers, F. | author3=Kumar, V. | author4=Nilsson, M. A. | author5=Janke, A. | title=Whole-genome sequencing of the blue whale and other rorquals finds signatures for introgressive gene flow | journal=[[Science Advances]] | volume=4 | issue = 4 | article-number=eaap9873 | date=2018| bibcode=2018SciA....4.9873A | doi=10.1126/sciadv.aap9873 | pmid=29632892 | pmc=5884691}}</ref> The earliest discovered anatomically modern blue whale is a partial skull fossil from southern [[Italy]] identified as ''B.'' cf. ''musculus'', dating to the Early [[Pleistocene]], roughly 1.5–1.25&nbsp;million years ago.<ref name=Bianucci_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Bianucci, G. | author2=Marx, F. G. | author3=Collareta, A. | author4=Di Stefano, A. | author5=Landini, W. | author6=Morigi, C. | author7=Varola, A. | title=Rise of the titans: baleen whales became giants earlier than thought | journal=[[Biology Letters]] | volume=15 | issue = 5 | article-number=20190175 | date=2019| doi=10.1098/rsbl.2019.0175 | pmid=31039728 | pmc=6548731}}</ref> The Australian [[pygmy blue whale]] diverged during the [[Last Glacial Maximum]]. Their more recent divergence has resulted in the subspecies having a relatively low genetic diversity,<ref name=Attard_etal_2015>{{cite journal | author1=Attard, C. R. M. | author2=Beheregaray, L. B. | author3=Jenner, K. C. S. | author4=Gill, P. C. | author5=Jenner, M.-N. M. | author6=Morrice, M. G. | author7=Teske, P. R. | author8=Moller, L. M. | title=Low genetic diversity in pygmy blue whales is due to climate-induced diversification rather than anthropogenic impacts | journal=Biology Letters | volume=11 | issue=5 | article-number=20141037 | date=2015| doi=10.1098/rsbl.2014.1037 | pmid=25948571 | pmc=4455730 | bibcode=2015BiLet..1141037A }}</ref> and New Zealand blue whales have an even lower genetic diversity.<ref name=Barlow_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Barlow, D. R. | author2=Torres, L. G. | author3=Hodge, K. B. | author4=Steel, D. | author5=Baker, C. S. | author6=Chandler, T. E. | author7=Bott, N. | author8=Constantine, R. | author9=Double, M. C. | author10=Gill, P. | author11=Glasgow, D. | author12=Hamner, R. M. | author13=Lilley, C. | author14=Ogle, M. | author15=Olson, P. A. | title=Documentation of a New Zealand blue whale population based on multiple lines of evidence | journal=Endangered Species Research | volume=36 | pages=27–40 | date=2018| doi=10.3354/esr00891 | doi-access=free| bibcode=2018ESRes..36...27B | hdl=2292/49145 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>
 [[Whole genome sequencing]] suggests that blue whales are most closely related to [[sei whale]]s with gray whales as a [[sister group]]. This study also found significant [[gene flow]] between minke whales and the ancestors of the blue and sei whale. Blue whales also displayed high genetic diversity.<ref name=Arnason_etal_2018/>
@@ Line 88: / Line 91: @@
 In 2024, a genome analysis of North Atlantic blue whales found evidence that approximately 3.5% of the blue whales' genome was derived from hybridization with fin whales. Gene flow was found to be unidirectional from fin whales to blue whales. Comparison with Antarctic blue whales showed that this hybridization began after the separation of the northern and southern populations. Despite their smaller size, fin whales have similar cruising and sprinting speeds to blue whales, which would allow fin males to complete courtship chases with blue females.<ref name=Jossey_et_al_2024>{{cite journal | author1=Jossey, Sushma | author2=Haddrath, O. | author3=Loureiro, L. | author4=Weir, J. | author5=Lim, B. | author6=Miller, J. | author7=Scherer, S. | author8=Goskøyr, A | author9=Lille-Langøy, R | author10=Kovacs, Kit | author11=Lyndersen, C | author12=Routti, H | author13=Engstrom, M | title=Population structure and history of North Atlantic Blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus musculus'') inferred from whole genome sequence analysis | journal=[[Conservation Genetics]] | volume=Open access | date=6 January 2024 | issue=2 | pages=357–371 | doi=10.1007/s10592-023-01584-5| doi-access=free | bibcode=2024ConG...25..357J | hdl=11250/3164708 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>
-There is a reference to a humpback–blue whale hybrid in the [[South Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]], attributed to marine biologist Michael Poole.<ref name=Reeves_etal_2002/><ref name=Hatch_etal_2006>{{cite journal | author1=Hatch, L. T. | author2=Dopman, E. B. | author3=Harrison, R. G. | title=Phylogenetic relationships among the baleen whales based on maternally and paternally inherited characters | journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]] | volume=41 | issue=1 | pages=12–27 | date=2006| doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.023 | pmid=16843014| bibcode=2006MolPE..41...12H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Genomic analyses reveal an absence of contemporary introgressive admixture between fin whales and blue whales, despite known hybrids|date=25 September 2019| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0222004 | doi-access=free | last1=Westbury | first1=Michael V. | last2=Petersen | first2=Bent | last3=Lorenzen | first3=Eline D. | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=14 | issue=9 | pages=e0222004 | pmid=31553763 | pmc=6760757 | bibcode=2019PLoSO..1422004W }}</ref>
+There is a reference to a humpback–blue whale hybrid in the [[South Pacific Ocean|South Pacific]], attributed to marine biologist Michael Poole.<ref name=Reeves_etal_2002/><ref name=Hatch_etal_2006>{{cite journal | author1=Hatch, L. T. | author2=Dopman, E. B. | author3=Harrison, R. G. | title=Phylogenetic relationships among the baleen whales based on maternally and paternally inherited characters | journal=[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]] | volume=41 | issue=1 | pages=12–27 | date=2006| doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.023 | pmid=16843014| bibcode=2006MolPE..41...12H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Genomic analyses reveal an absence of contemporary introgressive admixture between fin whales and blue whales, despite known hybrids|date=25 September 2019| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0222004 | doi-access=free | last1=Westbury | first1=Michael V. | last2=Petersen | first2=Bent | last3=Lorenzen | first3=Eline D. | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=14 | issue=9 | article-number=e0222004 | pmid=31553763 | pmc=6760757 | bibcode=2019PLoSO..1422004W }}</ref>
 ===Subspecies and stocks===
-At least four subspecies of blue whale are traditionally recognized, some of which are divided into population stocks or "management units".<ref name=NOAA>{{cite report|first1=Chris W. |last1= Oliver|date=November 2020|title= Recovery Plan for the Blue Whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/recovery-plan-blue-whale-balaenoptera-musculus-0|access-date=12 April 2022}}</ref><ref name=SMM_2016>{{cite web|url=https://www.marinemammalscience.org/species-information/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/ |title=List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies |date=13 November 2016 | publisher=[[The Society for Marine Mammalogy]] |access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref> They have a worldwide distribution, but are mostly absent from the [[Arctic Ocean]] and the [[Mediterranean]], [[Sea of Okhotsk|Okhotsk]], and [[Bering Sea]].<ref name=NOAA/>
+At least four subspecies of blue whale are traditionally recognized, some of which are divided into population stocks or "management units".<ref name=NOAA>{{cite report|first1=Chris W. |last1= Oliver|date=November 2020|title= Recovery Plan for the Blue Whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/recovery-plan-blue-whale-balaenoptera-musculus-0|access-date=12 April 2022}}</ref><ref name=SMM_2016>{{cite web|url=https://www.marinemammalscience.org/species-information/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/ |title=List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies |date=13 November 2016 | publisher=[[The Society for Marine Mammalogy]] |access-date=30 December 2019}}</ref><ref name=Jefferson>{{cite book|last1=Jefferson|first1=Thomas A.|last2=Webber|first2=Marc A.|last3=Pitman|first3=Robert L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sc-cBAAAQBAJ&dq=Blue+whale&pg=PA49|year=2015|title=Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Identification|publisher=Academic Press|edition=2nd|pages=49–53|isbn=978-0-12-409542-7}}</ref> Like many large rorquals, the blue whale is a [[cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan species]].<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018>{{cite book | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Perrin, W. F. | title=Encyclopedia of marine mammals | chapter=Blue Whale: "Balaenoptera musculus" | publisher=Academic Press | location=London, UK | editor1-last=Würsig | editor1-first=B. | editor2-last=Thewissen | editor2-first=J. G. M. | editor3-last=Kovacs | editor3-first=K. M. | pages=110–114 | date=2018}}</ref> They have a worldwide distribution, but are mostly absent from the [[Arctic Ocean]] and the [[Mediterranean]], [[Sea of Okhotsk|Okhotsk]], and [[Bering Sea]].<ref name=NOAA/>
 [[File:Blue Whale 001 body bw.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Aerial photograph of an adult blue whale showing its length |Aerial view of adult blue whale]]
 *Northern subspecies (''B. m. musculus'')
@@ Line 109: / Line 112: @@
 ==Description==
-[[File:Bluewhale2 noaa.jpg|thumb|A blue whale with its [[bow wave]], showing the blowhole]]
+[[File:Bluewhale2 noaa.jpg|thumb|A blue whale with its [[bow wave]], showing the blowholes]]
-The blue whale is a slender-bodied cetacean with a broad U-shaped head; thin, elongated [[flipper (anatomy)|flippers]]; a small {{convert|13|in|cm|order=flip|sp=us}} sickle-shaped dorsal fin located close to the tail, and a large tail stock at the root of the wide and thin [[fluke (tail)|fluke]]s. The upper jaw is lined with 70–395 black [[baleen]] plates. The throat region has 60–88 grooves which allows the skin to expand during feeding.<ref name="Reeves_etal_2002">{{cite book | last1=Reeves | first1=R. R. | last2=Stewart | first2=P. J. | last3=Clapham | first3=J. | last4=Powell | first4=J. A. | title=Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the eastern North Pacific and adjacent Arctic waters: A guide to their identification | location=New York | publisher=[[Knopf]] | pages=234–237 | date=2002}}</ref><ref name="Calamb_Steig_1997" /><ref name="Sears_Perr_2009" /><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976" /><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1982">{{cite journal | author1=Leatherwood, S. | author2=Reeves, R. R. | author3=Perrin, W. F. | author4=Evans, W. E. | title=Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the eastern North Pacific and adjacent Arctic waters: A guide to their identification | journal=NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular | volume=444 | page=245 | date=1982 | url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/5472}}</ref> It has two [[blowhole (anatomy)|blowholes]] that can squirt {{convert|30|–|40|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} up in the air.<ref name="Reeves_etal_2002" /><ref name="Sears_Perr_2009" /><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976" /> The skin has a mottled grayish-blue coloration, appearing blue underwater.<ref name=Calamb_Steig_1997>{{cite book | last1=Calambokidis | first1=J. | last2=Steiger | first2=G. H. | title=Blue Whales | location=McGregor, MN | publisher=Voyager Press | page=72 | date=1997}}</ref><ref name=Sears_Perr_2009>{{cite book | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Perrin, W. F. | title=Encyclopedia of marine mammals | location=San Diego, CA | publisher=[[Academic Press]] | pages=120–124 | chapter=Blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') | editor1-last=Perrin | editor1-first=W. F. | editor2-last=Würsig | editor2-first=B. | editor3-last=Thewissen | editor3-first=J. G. M. | date=2009}}</ref><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976">{{cite journal|author1=Leatherwood, S.|author2=Caldwell, D. K.|author3=Winn, H. E.|date=1976|title=Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the western North Atlantic|url=http://aquaticcommons.org/1417/|journal=NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular|volume=396|page=176|access-date=31 December 2019|archive-date=20 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720121225/http://aquaticcommons.org/1417/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The mottling patterns near the [[dorsal fin]] vary between individuals.<ref name="Sears_etal_1990">{{cite journal | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Williamson, J. M. | author3=Wenzel, F. W. | author4=Bérubé, M. | author5=Gendron, D. | author6=Jones, P. | title=Photographic identification of the blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada | journal=[[Reports of the International Whaling Commission]] | volume=12 | pages=335–342 | date=1990}}</ref><ref name="Calambokidis_etal_2009">{{cite journal | author1=Calambokidis, J. | author2=Barlow, J. | author3=Ford, J. K. B. | author4=Chandler, T. E. | author5=Douglas, A. B. | title=Insights into the population structure of blue whales in the Eastern North Pacific from recent sightings and photographic identification | journal=[[Marine Mammal Science]] | volume=25 | issue=4 | pages=816–832 | date=2009| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00298.x | bibcode=2009MMamS..25..816C | s2cid=83527877 | url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=usdeptcommercepub }}</ref><ref name="Gendron_2012">{{cite journal | author1=Gendron, D. | author2=De La Cruz, U. | author3=Winn, H. E. | title=A new classification method to simplify blue whale photo-identification technique | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=13 | issue=1 | pages=79–84 | date=2012}}</ref> The underbelly has lighter pigmentation and can appear yellowish due to [[diatom]]s in the water,<ref name="Calamb_Steig_1997" /><ref name="Sears_Perr_2009" /><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976" /> which historically earned them the nickname "sulphur bottom".<ref name="Melville_1851">{{cite book | last1=Melville | first1=H.|author-link=Herman Melville | title=[[Moby-Dick]] | location=New York | publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Brothers]] | page=398 | date=1851}}</ref><ref name="Scammon_1874">{{cite book | last1=Scammon | first1=C. M. | title=The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North America | location=New York | publisher=Dover | date=1874}}</ref> The male blue whale has the [[Blue whale penis|largest penis]] in the animal kingdom, at around {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|12|in|cm|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name = "bioweb">{{cite web|url=http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/olson_rile/reproduction.htm|title=Reproduction|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin]]|access-date=3 October 2012|archive-date=30 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730002050/http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/olson_rile/reproduction.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
+The blue whale is a slender-bodied cetacean with a broad U-shaped head; thin, elongated [[flipper (anatomy)|flippers]]; a small sickle-shaped dorsal fin located close to the tail, and a large tail stock at the root of the wide and thin [[fluke (tail)|fluke]]s. The upper jaw is lined with 70–400 black [[baleen]] plates less than {{convert|1|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length. The throat region has 60–88 grooves which allows the skin to expand during feeding.<ref name="Reeves_etal_2002">{{cite book | last1=Reeves | first1=R. R. | last2=Stewart | first2=P. J. | last3=Clapham | first3=J. | last4=Powell | first4=J. A. | title=Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the eastern North Pacific and adjacent Arctic waters: A guide to their identification | location=New York | publisher=[[Knopf]] | pages=234–237 | date=2002}}</ref><ref name="Calamb_Steig_1997" /><ref name="Sears_Perr_2009" /><ref name=Jefferson/><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976" /><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1982">{{cite journal | author1=Leatherwood, S. | author2=Reeves, R. R. | author3=Perrin, W. F. | author4=Evans, W. E. | title=Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the eastern North Pacific and adjacent Arctic waters: A guide to their identification | journal=NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular | volume=444 | page=245 | date=1982 | url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/5472}}</ref><ref name= "Tinker 1988">{{Cite book|last= Tinker |first= Spencer Wilkie |title= Whales of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ASIVAAAAIAAJ&q=Blue+whale+penise&pg=PA286|year=1988|publisher= Brill Archive |isbn=9780935848472|pages=286}}</ref> It has two [[blowhole (anatomy)|blowholes]] that can squirt {{convert|9.1|-|12|m|sp=us}} up in the air.<ref name="Reeves_etal_2002" /><ref name="Sears_Perr_2009" /><ref name=Jefferson/><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976" /> The skin has a mottled grayish-blue coloration, appearing blue underwater.<ref name=Calamb_Steig_1997>{{cite book | last1=Calambokidis | first1=J. | last2=Steiger | first2=G. H. | title=Blue Whales | location=McGregor, MN | publisher=Voyager Press | page=72 | date=1997}}</ref><ref name=Sears_Perr_2009>{{cite book | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Perrin, W. F. | title=Encyclopedia of marine mammals | location=San Diego, CA | publisher=[[Academic Press]] | pages=120–124 | chapter=Blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') | editor1-last=Perrin | editor1-first=W. F. | editor2-last=Würsig | editor2-first=B. | editor3-last=Thewissen | editor3-first=J. G. M. | date=2009}}</ref><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976">{{cite journal|author1=Leatherwood, S.|author2=Caldwell, D. K.|author3=Winn, H. E.|date=1976|title=Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the western North Atlantic|url=http://aquaticcommons.org/1417/|journal=NOAA Technical Report NMFS Circular|volume=396|page=176|access-date=31 December 2019|archive-date=20 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720121225/http://aquaticcommons.org/1417/}}</ref> The mottling patterns near the [[dorsal fin]] vary between individuals.<ref name="Sears_etal_1990">{{cite journal | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Williamson, J. M. | author3=Wenzel, F. W. | author4=Bérubé, M. | author5=Gendron, D. | author6=Jones, P. | title=Photographic identification of the blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada | journal=[[Reports of the International Whaling Commission]] | volume=12 | pages=335–342 | date=1990}}</ref><ref name="Calambokidis_etal_2009">{{cite journal | author1=Calambokidis, J. | author2=Barlow, J. | author3=Ford, J. K. B. | author4=Chandler, T. E. | author5=Douglas, A. B. | title=Insights into the population structure of blue whales in the Eastern North Pacific from recent sightings and photographic identification | journal=[[Marine Mammal Science]] | volume=25 | issue=4 | pages=816–832 | date=2009| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00298.x | bibcode=2009MMamS..25..816C | s2cid=83527877 | url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=usdeptcommercepub }}</ref><ref name="Gendron_2012">{{cite journal | author1=Gendron, D. | author2=De La Cruz, U. | author3=Winn, H. E. | title=A new classification method to simplify blue whale photo-identification technique | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=13 | issue=1 | pages=79–84 | date=2012}}</ref> The underbelly has lighter pigmentation and can appear yellowish due to [[diatom]]s in the water,<ref name="Calamb_Steig_1997" /><ref name="Sears_Perr_2009" /><ref name="Leatherwood_etal_1976" /> which historically earned them the nickname "sulphur bottom".<ref name="Melville_1851">{{cite book | last1=Melville | first1=H.|author-link=Herman Melville | title=[[Moby-Dick]] | location=New York | publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper & Brothers]] | page=398 | date=1851}}</ref><ref name="Scammon_1874">{{cite book | last1=Scammon | first1=C. M. | title=The Marine Mammals of the Northwestern Coast of North America | location=New York | publisher=Dover | date=1874}}</ref>
 === Size ===
-[[File:Joey williams with a 19&nbsp;foot long blue whale skull.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Photograph of a blue whale skull |A blue whale [[skull]] measuring {{convert|19|ft|m|order=flip|sp=us}}]]
+[[File:Joey williams with a 19&nbsp;foot long blue whale skull.jpg|thumb|upright|right|alt=Photograph of a blue whale skull |A blue whale [[skull]] measuring {{convert|5.79|m|sp=us}}]]
-The blue whale is the largest animal known ever to have existed.<ref name="Ruud_1956">{{cite journal|author1=Ruud, J. T.|date=1956|title=The blue whale|journal=[[Scientific American]]|volume=195|issue=6|pages=46–50|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1256-46|bibcode=1956SciAm.195f..46R}}</ref><ref name="Lockyer_1981">{{cite journal|author1=Lockyer, C.|date=1981|title=Growth and energy budgets of large baleen whales from the southern hemisphere|journal=FAO Fisheries Series (5) Mammals in the Seas|volume=3|pages=379–487}}</ref><ref name="Mizroch_1984">{{cite journal|author1=Mizroch, S. A.|author2=Rice, D. W.|author3=Breiwick, J. M.|date=1984|title=The blue whale, ''Balaenoptera musculus''|journal=Marine Fisheries Review|volume=46|pages=15–19}}</ref> Some studies have estimated that certain [[Shastasauridae|shastasaurid]] [[Ichthyosauria|ichthyosaur]]s and the ancient whale ''[[Perucetus]]'' could have rivalled the blue whale in size, with ''Perucetus'' actually being heavier with a mean weight of {{cvt|180|t}}.<ref name="AT23" /><ref name="PLOS One2018">{{cite journal |last1=De la Salle |first1=Paul |last2=R. Lomax |first2=Dean |last3=A. Massare |first3=Judy |last4=Gallois |first4=Ramues |name-list-style=vanc |year=2018 |title=A giant Late Triassic ichthyosaur from the UK and a reinterpretation of the Aust Cliff 'dinosaurian' bones |url=https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0194742 |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=13 |issue=4 |doi=10.6084/m9.figshare.5975440}}</ref> However, these estimates were based on fragmentary remains, and the proposed size for ''Perucetus'' was disputed by studies in 2024.<ref name=MP24>{{Cite journal|last1=Motani |first1=R. |last2=Pyenson |first2=N. D. |year=2024 |title=Downsizing a heavyweight: factors and methods that revise weight estimates of the giant fossil whale ''Perucetus colossus'' |journal=PeerJ |volume=12 |at=e16978 |doi=10.7717/peerj.16978 |doi-access=free |pmid=38436015 |pmc=10909350 }}</ref> Other studies estimate that, on land, large [[Sauropoda|sauropods]] like ''[[Bruhathkayosaurus]]'' (mean weight: 110–170 tons) and ''[[Maraapunisaurus]]'' (mean weight: 80–120 tons) might have rivalled the blue whale, with the former even exceeding the blue whale based on its most liberal estimates (240 tons). However, these estimates were  based on even more fragmentary specimens that had disintegrated by the time estimates could be made.<ref name="Bruhathkayosaurus2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Gregory S. |last2=Larramendi |first2=Asier |date=11 April 2023 |title=Body mass estimate of ''Bruhathkayosaurus'' and other fragmentary sauropod remains suggest the largest land animals were about as big as the greatest whales |journal=Lethaia |language=en |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.18261/let.56.2.5 |bibcode=2023Letha..56..2.5P |s2cid=259782734 |issn=0024-1164|doi-access=free }}</ref>
+The blue whale is the largest animal known ever to have existed.<ref name="Ruud_1956">{{cite journal|author1=Ruud, J. T.|date=1956|title=The blue whale|journal=[[Scientific American]]|volume=195|issue=6|pages=46–50|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1256-46|bibcode=1956SciAm.195f..46R}}</ref><ref name="Lockyer_1981">{{cite journal|author1=Lockyer, C.|date=1981|title=Growth and energy budgets of large baleen whales from the southern hemisphere|journal=FAO Fisheries Series (5) Mammals in the Seas|volume=3|pages=379–487}}</ref><ref name="Mizroch_1984">{{cite journal|author1=Mizroch, S. A.|author2=Rice, D. W.|author3=Breiwick, J. M.|date=1984|title=The blue whale, ''Balaenoptera musculus''|journal=Marine Fisheries Review|volume=46|pages=15–19}}</ref> Some studies have estimated that certain [[Shastasauridae|shastasaurid]] [[Ichthyosauria|ichthyosaur]]s and the ancient whale ''[[Perucetus]]'' could have rivalled the blue whale in size, with ''Perucetus'' actually being heavier with a mean weight of {{cvt|180|t}}.<ref name="AT23" /><ref name="PLOS One2018">{{cite journal | last1=Lomax | first1=Dean R. | last2=de la Salle | first2=Paul | last3=Massare | first3=Judy A. | last4=Gallois | first4=Ramues | title=A giant Late Triassic ichthyosaur from the UK and a reinterpretation of the Aust Cliff 'dinosaurian' bones | journal=PLOS ONE | date=2018 | volume=13 | issue=4 | article-number=e0194742 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0194742 | pmid=29630618 | bibcode=2018PLoSO..1394742L | doi-access=free | pmc=5890986 }}</ref> However, these estimates were based on fragmentary remains, and the proposed size for ''Perucetus'' was disputed by studies in 2024.<ref name=MP24>{{Cite journal|last1=Motani |first1=R. |last2=Pyenson |first2=N. D. |year=2024 |title=Downsizing a heavyweight: factors and methods that revise weight estimates of the giant fossil whale ''Perucetus colossus'' |journal=PeerJ |volume=12 |article-number=e16978 |doi=10.7717/peerj.16978 |doi-access=free |pmid=38436015 |pmc=10909350 }}</ref> Other studies estimate that, on land, large [[Sauropoda|sauropods]] like ''[[Bruhathkayosaurus]]'' (mean weight: 110–170 tons) and ''[[Maraapunisaurus]]'' (mean weight: 80–120 tons) might have rivalled the blue whale, with the former even exceeding the blue whale based on its most liberal estimates (240 tons). However, these estimates were  based on even more fragmentary specimens that had disintegrated by the time estimates could be made.<ref name="Bruhathkayosaurus2023">{{Cite journal |last1=Paul |first1=Gregory S. |last2=Larramendi |first2=Asier |date=11 April 2023 |title=Body mass estimate of ''Bruhathkayosaurus'' and other fragmentary sauropod remains suggest the largest land animals were about as big as the greatest whales |journal=Lethaia |language=en |volume=56 |issue=2 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.18261/let.56.2.5 |bibcode=2023Letha..56..2.5P |s2cid=259782734 |issn=0024-1164|doi-access=free }}</ref>
-The [[International Whaling Commission]] (IWC) whaling database reports 88 individuals longer than {{convert|30|m|sp=us}}, including one of {{convert|33|m|sp=us}}.<ref name="McClain_2015">{{cite journal | author1=McClain, C. R. | author2=Balk, M. A. | author3=Benfield, M. C. | author4=Branch, T. A. | author5=Chen, C. | author6=Cosgrove, J. | author7=Dove, A. D. M. | author8=Helm, R. R. | author9=Hochberg, F. G. | author10=Gaskins, L. C. | author11=Lee, F. B. | author12=Marshall, A. | author13=McMurray, S. E. | author14=Schanche, C. | author15=Stone, S. N. | title=Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna | journal=[[PeerJ]] | volume=e715 | page=e715 | date=2015 | doi=10.7717/peerj.715| pmid=25649000 | pmc=4304853 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Discovery Committee]] reported lengths up to {{convert|102|ft|order=flip|sp=us}}.<ref name=Mackintosh_1942>{{cite journal | author1=Mackintosh, N. A. | title=The southern stocks of whalebone whales | journal=[[Discovery Reports]] | volume=22 | issue=3889 | pages=569–570 | date=1942| url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_120108_thesouthernstocksofwhalebonewh1943/page/n9/mode/2up| bibcode=1944Natur.153..569F | doi=10.1038/153569a0 | s2cid=41590649 }}</ref> The longest scientifically measured individual blue whale was {{convert|98|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} from rostrum tip to tail notch.<ref name=Sears_Calamb_2002>{{cite book | last1=Sears | first1=R. | last2=Calambokidis | first2=J. | title=Update COSEWIC status report on the blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') in Canada | location=Ottawa, ON | publisher=[[Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada]] | page=32 | date=2002}}</ref> Female blue whales are larger than males.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Ralls_1976>{{cite journal | author1=Ralls, K. | title=Mammals in which females are larger than males | journal=[[The Quarterly Review of Biology]] | volume=51 | issue=2 | pages=245–270 | date=1976| doi=10.1086/409310 | pmid=785524 | s2cid=25927323 }}</ref> Hydrodynamic models suggest a blue whale could not exceed {{convert|33|m|ft}} because of metabolic and energy constraints.<ref name=Potvin_2012>{{cite journal | author1=Potvin, J. | author2=Goldbogen, J. | author3=Chadwick, R. E. | title=Metabolic Expenditures of Lunge Feeding Rorquals Across Scale: Implications for the Evolution of Filter Feeding and the Limits to Maximum Body Size | journal=[[PLOS ONE]] | volume=7 | issue=9 | page=e44854 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0044854 | pmid=23024769 | pmc=3443106 | date=2012| bibcode=2012PLoSO...744854P | doi-access=free }}</ref>
+The [[International Whaling Commission]] (IWC) whaling database reports 88 individuals longer than {{convert|30|m|sp=us}}, including one of {{convert|33|m|sp=us}}.<ref name="McClain_2015">{{cite journal | author1=McClain, C. R. | author2=Balk, M. A. | author3=Benfield, M. C. | author4=Branch, T. A. | author5=Chen, C. | author6=Cosgrove, J. | author7=Dove, A. D. M. | author8=Helm, R. R. | author9=Hochberg, F. G. | author10=Gaskins, L. C. | author11=Lee, F. B. | author12=Marshall, A. | author13=McMurray, S. E. | author14=Schanche, C. | author15=Stone, S. N. | title=Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna | journal=[[PeerJ]] | volume=e715 | article-number=e715 | date=2015 | doi=10.7717/peerj.715| pmid=25649000 | pmc=4304853 | doi-access=free }}</ref> The record length was measured at {{convert|33.6|m|sp=us}}.<ref name="AUS2002" /> The [[Discovery Committee]] reported lengths up to {{convert|102|ft|order=flip|sp=us}}.<ref name=Mackintosh_1942>{{cite journal | author1=Mackintosh, N. A. | title=The southern stocks of whalebone whales | journal=[[Discovery Reports]] | volume=22 | issue=3889 | pages=569–570 | date=1942| url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_120108_thesouthernstocksofwhalebonewh1943/page/n9/mode/2up| bibcode=1944Natur.153..569F | doi=10.1038/153569a0 | s2cid=41590649 }}</ref> The longest scientifically measured individual blue whale was {{convert|29.9|–|30.5|m|sp=us}} from rostrum tip to tail notch.<ref name=Sears_Calamb_2002>{{cite book | last1=Sears | first1=R. | last2=Calambokidis | first2=J. | title=Update COSEWIC status report on the blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') in Canada | location=Ottawa, ON | publisher=[[Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada]] | page=32 | date=2002 }}</ref><ref name=AUS2002>{{cite web | title = Assessment and Update Status Report on the Blue Whale ''Balaenoptera musculus'' | publisher = Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada | year = 2002 | url = https://web.archive.org/web/20251118110924/https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_blue_whale_e.pdf | access-date = 19 April 2007}}</ref><ref name="McClain_2015" /><ref name=Paul_2025>{{cite journal|author1=Paul, G.S.|author2=Larramendi, A.|year=2025|title=Further trimming down the marine heavyweights: ''Perucetus colossus'' did not come close to, much less exceed, the tonnage of blue whales, and the latter are not ultra-sized either|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica|volume=28|issue=1|at=28.1.a6|doi=10.26879/1435|url=https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2025/5431-trimming-down-perucetus|doi-access=free}}</ref> Female blue whales are larger than males.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Jefferson/><ref name=Ralls_1976>{{cite journal | author1=Ralls, K. | title=Mammals in which females are larger than males | journal=[[The Quarterly Review of Biology]] | volume=51 | issue=2 | pages=245–270 | date=1976| doi=10.1086/409310 | pmid=785524 | s2cid=25927323 }}</ref> Hydrodynamic models suggest a blue whale could not exceed {{convert|33|m|ft}} because of metabolic and energy constraints.<ref name=Potvin_2012>{{cite journal | author1=Potvin, J. | author2=Goldbogen, J. | author3=Chadwick, R. E. | title=Metabolic Expenditures of Lunge Feeding Rorquals Across Scale: Implications for the Evolution of Filter Feeding and the Limits to Maximum Body Size | journal=[[PLOS ONE]] | volume=7 | issue=9 | article-number=e44854 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0044854 | pmid=23024769 | pmc=3443106 | date=2012| bibcode=2012PLoSO...744854P | doi-access=free }}</ref> The existence of blue whales exceeding {{convert|30.5|m|sp=us}} in length has been questioned.<ref name="McClain_2015" /><ref name="Paul_2025" />
-The average length of sexually mature female blue whales is {{convert|72.1|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for Eastern North Pacific blue whales, {{convert|79|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for central and western North [[Pacific]] blue whales, {{convert|68–78|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for North [[Atlantic]] blue whales, {{convert|83.4|–|86.3|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for Antarctic blue whales, {{convert|77.1|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for Chilean blue whales, and {{convert|69.9|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for pygmy blue whales.<ref name="McClain_2015"/><ref name=Branch_2007a>{{cite journal | author1=Branch, T. A. | author2=Abubaker, E. M. N. | author3=Mkango, S. | author4=Butterworth, D. S. | title=Separating southern blue whale subspecies based on length frequencies of sexually mature females | journal=[[Marine Mammal Science]] | volume=23 | issue=4 | pages=803–833 | date=2007| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00137.x | bibcode=2007MMamS..23..803B }}</ref><ref name=Gilpatrick_Perryman_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Gilpatrick, J. W. | author2=Perryman, W. L. | title=Geographic variation in external morphology of North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'') | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=10 | issue=1 | pages=9–21 | date=2008| doi=10.47536/jcrm.v10i1.654 | s2cid=256926335 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
+The average length of sexually mature female blue whales is {{convert|72.1|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for Eastern North Pacific blue whales, {{convert|79|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for central and western North [[Pacific]] blue whales, {{convert|68–78|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for North [[Atlantic]] blue whales, {{convert|83.4|–|87.3|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for Antarctic blue whales, {{convert|77.1|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for Chilean blue whales, and {{convert|69.9|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} for pygmy blue whales.<ref name="McClain_2015"/><ref name=Branch_2007a>{{cite journal | author1=Branch, T. A. | author2=Abubaker, E. M. N. | author3=Mkango, S. | author4=Butterworth, D. S. | title=Separating southern blue whale subspecies based on length frequencies of sexually mature females | journal=[[Marine Mammal Science]] | volume=23 | issue=4 | pages=803–833 | date=2007| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00137.x | bibcode=2007MMamS..23..803B }}</ref><ref name=Gilpatrick_Perryman_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Gilpatrick, J. W. | author2=Perryman, W. L. | title=Geographic variation in external morphology of North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'') | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=10 | issue=1 | pages=9–21 | date=2008| doi=10.47536/jcrm.v10i1.654 | s2cid=256926335 | doi-access=free |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368557383 }}</ref> Length measurements of blue whales in the [[Gulf of California]] suggest a mean length of {{convert|20.49|m|sp=us}} and a maximum length of {{convert|29.01|m|sp=us}}, which is comparable to Northeast Pacific blue whales. The maximum length of the individual is estimated by another estimate to be between {{convert|27.53|-|30.50|m|sp=us}}, with a probability of 0.95.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ortega-Ortiz |first1=Christian D. |last2=Mata Cruz |first2=Ricardo M. |last3=Gerrodette |first3=Tim |last4=Gendron |first4=Diane |title=Mammalian Biology |chapter=A photogrammetric method to estimate total length of the largest mammal, the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) |date=2022 |volume=102 |issue=3 |pages=629–643 |doi=10.1007/s42991-022-00307-6 }}</ref>
-In the Northern Hemisphere, males weigh an average {{convert|100|t|lb|sp=us}} and females {{convert|112|t|lb|sp=us}}. Eastern North [[Pacific]] blue whale males average {{convert|88.5|t|lb|sp=}} and females {{convert|100|t|lb|sp=}}. Antarctic males average {{convert|112|t|lb|sp=}} and females {{convert|130|t|lb|sp=}}. Pygmy blue whale males average {{convert|83.5|t|lb|sp=}} to {{convert|99|t|lb|sp=}}.<ref name=Lockyer_1976>{{cite journal | author1=Lockyer, C. | title=Body weights of some species of large whales | journal=[[J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer]] | volume=36 | issue=3 | pages=259–273 | date=1976| doi=10.1093/icesjms/36.3.259 }}</ref> The weight of the heart of a stranded North Atlantic blue whale was {{convert|180|kg|lb|abbr=on|sp=}}, the largest known in any animal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150820-see-the-worlds-biggest-heart-blue-whales-is-first-to-be-preserved?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=BBC_iWonder&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=knowledge_and_learning |title=See the world's biggest heart |access-date=21 August 2015 |archive-date=16 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916133445/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150820-see-the-worlds-biggest-heart-blue-whales-is-first-to-be-preserved?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=BBC_iWonder&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=knowledge_and_learning |url-status=dead }}</ref> The record-holder blue whale was recorded at {{convert|173|tonne|short ton|-1|lk=on|abbr=off}},<ref>{{cite web | title = Assessment and Update Status Report on the Blue Whale ''Balaenoptera musculus'' | publisher = Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada | year = 2002 | url = http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_blue_whale_e.pdf | access-date = 19 April 2007}}</ref> with estimates of up to {{convert|199|tonne|short ton|-1|lk=on|abbr=off}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McClain |first1=Craig R. |last2=Balk |first2=Meghan A. |last3=Benfield |first3=Mark C. |last4=Branch |first4=Trevor A. |last5=Chen |first5=Catherine |last6=Cosgrove |first6=James |last7=Dove |first7=Alistair D.M. |last8=Gaskins |first8=Leo |last9=Helm |first9=Rebecca R. |last10=Hochberg |first10=Frederick G. |last11=Lee |first11=Frank B. |last12=Marshall |first12=Andrea |last13=McMurray |first13=Steven E. |last14=Schanche |first14=Caroline |last15=Stone |first15=Shane N. |last16=Thaler |first16=Andrew D. |title=Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna |journal=PeerJ |date=13 January 2015 |volume=3 |pages=e715 |doi=10.7717/peerj.715 |pmid=25649000 |pmc=4304853 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
+In the Northern Hemisphere, males weigh an average {{convert|100|t|lb|sp=us}} and females {{convert|112|t|lb|sp=us}}. Eastern North [[Pacific]] blue whale males average {{convert|88.5|t|lb|sp=}} and females {{convert|100|t|lb|sp=}}. Antarctic males average {{convert|112|t|lb|sp=}} and females {{convert|130|t|lb|sp=}}. Pygmy blue whale males average {{convert|83.5|t|lb|sp=}} to {{convert|99|t|lb|sp=}}.<ref name=Lockyer_1976>{{cite journal | author1=Lockyer, C. | title=Body weights of some species of large whales | journal=[[J. Cons. Int. Explor. Mer]] | volume=36 | issue=3 | pages=259–273 | date=1976| doi=10.1093/icesjms/36.3.259 }}</ref> The average weight of an adult blue whale is between {{convert|72|–|135|t|lb|sp=us}}.<ref name=Jefferson/> The weight of the heart of a stranded North Atlantic blue whale was {{convert|180|kg|lb|abbr=on|sp=}}, the largest known in any animal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150820-see-the-worlds-biggest-heart-blue-whales-is-first-to-be-preserved?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=BBC_iWonder&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=knowledge_and_learning |title=See the world's biggest heart |access-date=21 August 2015 |archive-date=16 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200916133445/http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150820-see-the-worlds-biggest-heart-blue-whales-is-first-to-be-preserved?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=BBC_iWonder&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=knowledge_and_learning }}</ref> The brain of a blue whale, which weighed {{convert|50.9|t|lb|sp=}}, weighed about {{convert|3.636|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Tinker 1988" /> The record-holder female blue whale was caught in the Southern Ocean on March 20, 1947, and was recorded as measuring {{convert|27.6|m|sp=us}} long and weighing {{convert|190|tonne|short ton|-1|lk=on|abbr=off}},<ref name="Paul_2025" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-mammal |title=Largest mammal |access-date=2025-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131024019/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-mammal |archive-date=2018-01-31 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Lockyer_1976" /> with estimates of up to {{convert|199|tonne|short ton|-1|lk=on|abbr=off}}.<ref name="McClain_2015" />
-In 2024, Motani and Pyenson calculated the body mass of blue whales at different lengths, compiling records of their sizes from previous academic literatures and using regression analyses and volumetric analyses. A {{convert|25|m|ft}} long individual was estimated to weigh approximately {{convert|101|-|119|tonne|ST}}, while a {{convert|30|m|ft}} long individual was estimated to weigh approximately {{convert|184|-|205|tonne|ST}}. Considering that the largest blue whale was indeed {{convert|33|m|ft}} long, they estimated that a blue whale of such length would have weighed approximately {{convert|252|-|273|tonne|ST}}.<ref name=MP24/>
+In 2024, Motani and Pyenson calculated the body mass of blue whales at different lengths, compiling records of their sizes from previous academic literatures and using regression analyses and volumetric analyses. A {{convert|25|m|ft}} long individual was estimated to weigh approximately {{convert|101|-|119|tonne|ST}}, while a {{convert|30|m|ft}} long individual was estimated to weigh approximately {{convert|184|-|205|tonne|ST}}. Considering that the largest blue whale was indeed {{convert|33|m|ft}} long, they estimated that a blue whale of such length would have weighed approximately {{convert|252|-|273|tonne|ST}}.<ref name=MP24/> In 2025, Paul and Larramendi estimated that blue whales could exceed {{convert|200|tonne|ST}}, but likely not by as much as Motani and Pyenson documented.<ref name="Paul_2025" />
-During the harvest of a female blue whale, Messrs. Irvin and Johnson collected a fetus that is now 70% preserved and used for educational purposes. The fetus was collected in 1922, so some shrinkage may have occurred, making visualization of some features fairly difficult. However, due to this collection researchers now know that the external anatomy of a blue whale fetus is approximately 133&nbsp;mm. Along with during the developmental phases, the fetus is located where the embryonic and fetal phases converge. This fetus is the youngest gestational age of the specimen recorded.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roston |first=Rachel A. |date=2013 |title=Anatomy and Age Estimation of an Early Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Fetus |journal=The Anatomical Record|volume=296 |issue=4 |pages=709–722 |doi=10.1002/ar.22678 |pmid=23447333 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
+During the harvest of a female blue whale in 1922, Messrs. Irvin and Johnson collected a fetus that is now 70% preserved and used for educational purposes. Some shrinkage may have occurred, making visualization of some features fairly difficult. Nonetheless it indicates that a blue whale fetus is approximately 133&nbsp;mm long at the juncture between the embryonic and fetal phases of development. This fetus represents the youngest specimen recorded.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Roston |first=Rachel A. |date=2013 |title=Anatomy and Age Estimation of an Early Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Fetus |journal=The Anatomical Record |volume=296 |issue=4 |pages=709–722 |doi=10.1002/ar.22678 |pmid=23447333 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
+The male blue whale has the [[Blue whale penis|largest penis]] in the animal kingdom, at around {{convert|3|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|12|in|cm|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name = "bioweb">{{cite web|url=http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/olson_rile/reproduction.htm|title=Reproduction|publisher=[[University of Wisconsin]]|access-date=3 October 2012|archive-date=30 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730002050/http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2012/olson_rile/reproduction.htm}}</ref><ref name="Tinker 1988" />
 === Life span ===
-Blue whales live around 80–90 years or more.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=natgeo/> Scientists look at a blue whale's [[earwax]] or ear plug to estimate its age. Each year, a light and dark layer of wax is laid corresponding with fasting during migration and feeding time. Each set is thus an indicator of age.<ref name=Purves_1955>{{cite journal | author1=Purves, P. E. | title=The wax plug in the external auditory meatus of the | journal=Discovery Reports | volume=27 | pages=259–273 | date=1955}}</ref><ref name=Gabriele_etal_2010>{{cite journal | author1=Gabriele, C. M. | author2=Lockyer, C. | author3=Straley, J. M. | author4=Juasz, C. M. | author5=Kato, H. | title=Sighting history of a naturally marked humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') suggests ear plug growth layer groups are deposited annually | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=26 | issue=2 | pages=443–450 | date=2010| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00341.x | bibcode=2010MMamS..26..443G }}</ref><ref name=Lockyer_1984a>{{cite journal | author1=Lockyer, C. | title=Age Determination by means of the ear plug in baleen whales | journal=Report of the International Whaling Commission | volume=34 | pages=692–696 | date=1984}}</ref> The oldest blue whale found was determined, using this method, to be 110 years old.<ref name=natgeo>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[National Geographic]]|title=Blue whale|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/blue-whale|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220607195937/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/blue-whale|archive-date=7 June 2022|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref><ref name=wdc>{{cite web|title=Blue whale|work=[[Whale and Dolphin Conservation]]|url=https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/blue-whale/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230303051510/https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/blue-whale/|archive-date=3 March 2023|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref> The maximum age of a pygmy blue whale determined this way is 73 years.<ref name=Branch_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Branch, T. A. | title=Biological parameters for pygmy blue whales | journal=International Whaling Commission Document | volume=SC/60/SH6 | page=13 | date=2008}}</ref> In addition, female blue whales develop scars or [[corpora albicantia]] on their ovaries every time they ovulate.<ref name=Perr_Donov_1984>{{cite book | last1=Perrin | first1=W. F. | last2=Donovan | first2=G. P. | chapter=Report of the Workshop | title=Reproduction in whales, dolphin and porpoises | location=Cambridge, UK | publisher=[[International Whaling Commission]] | date=1984 | editor1-last=Perrin | editor1-first=W. F. | editor2-last=Donovan | editor2-first=G. P. | editor3-last=DeMaster | editor3-first=D. P.}}</ref> In a female pygmy blue whale, one corpus albicans is formed on average every 2.6 years.<ref name=Branch_2008/>
+Blue whales live around 80–90 years or more.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=natgeo/><ref name=Jefferson/> Scientists look at a blue whale's [[earwax]] or ear plug to estimate its age. Each year, a light and dark layer of wax is laid corresponding with fasting during migration and feeding time. Each set is thus an indicator of age.<ref name=Purves_1955>{{cite journal | author1=Purves, P. E. | title=The wax plug in the external auditory meatus of the | journal=Discovery Reports | volume=27 | pages=259–273 | date=1955}}</ref><ref name=Gabriele_etal_2010>{{cite journal | author1=Gabriele, C. M. | author2=Lockyer, C. | author3=Straley, J. M. | author4=Juasz, C. M. | author5=Kato, H. | title=Sighting history of a naturally marked humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') suggests ear plug growth layer groups are deposited annually | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=26 | issue=2 | pages=443–450 | date=2010| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2009.00341.x | bibcode=2010MMamS..26..443G }}</ref><ref name=Lockyer_1984a>{{cite journal | author1=Lockyer, C. | title=Age Determination by means of the ear plug in baleen whales | journal=Report of the International Whaling Commission | volume=34 | pages=692–696 | date=1984}}</ref> The oldest blue whale discovered using this method was found to be 110 years old.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=S. |first1=Ohsumi |date=1979 |title=Interspecies relationships among some biological parameters in cetaceans and estimation of the natural mortality coefficient of the Southern Hemisphere minke whale |journal=Whaling Comm |volume=29 |pages=397–406}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Greg A.|author2=Breed|author3=Els|author4=Vermeulen|author5=Peter|author6=Corkeron|year=2024|title=Extreme longevity may be the rule not the exception in Balaenid whales|journal=Science Advances|volume=51|issue=1|article-number=eadq3086 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.adq3086|pmid=39705342 |doi-access=free|pmc=11661453 |bibcode=2024SciA...10.3086B }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rangel |first1=Francisco Alejandro Lagunas |title=Deciphering the whale's secrets to have a long life |journal=Experimental Gerontology |date=August 2021 |volume=151 |article-number=111425 |doi=10.1016/j.exger.2021.111425 |pmid=34051285 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=natgeo>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[National Geographic]]|title=Blue whale|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/blue-whale|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}}<ref name=wdc>{{cite web|title=Blue whale|work=[[Whale and Dolphin Conservation]]|url=https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/species-guide/blue-whale/|access-date=3 March 2023}}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}} The maximum age of a pygmy blue whale determined this way is 73 years.<ref name=Branch_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Branch, T. A. | title=Biological parameters for pygmy blue whales | journal=International Whaling Commission Document | volume=SC/60/SH6 | page=13 | date=2008 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228776041}}</ref> Long-term identification studies in the Northeast Pacific suggest that they live for at least 40–45 years.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> In addition, female blue whales develop scars or [[corpora albicantia]] on their ovaries every time they ovulate.<ref name=Perr_Donov_1984>{{cite book | last1=Perrin | first1=W. F. | last2=Donovan | first2=G. P. | chapter=Report of the Workshop | title=Reproduction in whales, dolphin and porpoises | location=Cambridge, UK | publisher=[[International Whaling Commission]] | date=1984 | editor1-last=Perrin | editor1-first=W. F. | editor2-last=Donovan | editor2-first=G. P. | editor3-last=DeMaster | editor3-first=D. P.}}</ref> In a female pygmy blue whale, one corpus albicans is formed on average every 2.6 years.<ref name=Branch_2008/>
 ==Behavior and ecology==
 [[File:Bluewhale1 noaa crop.jpg|right|thumb|alt=Photograph of a whale blowing |The blow of a blue whale]]
-The blue whale is usually solitary, but can be found in pairs. When productivity is high enough, blue whales can be seen in gatherings of more than 50 individuals.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/> Populations may go on long [[Animal migration|migrations]], traveling to their summer feeding grounds towards the poles and then heading to their winter breeding grounds in more equatorial waters.<ref name=NOAAblue>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-whale#overview | title=Blue Whale | publisher=NOAA Fisheries | access-date= 11 November 2019}}</ref> The animals appear to use memory to locate the best feeding areas.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Abrahms, B.|author2=Hazen, E. L.|author3=Aikens, E. O.|author4=Savoca, M. S.|author5=Goldbogen, J. A.|author6=Goldbogen, S. J.|author7=Jacox, M. G.|author8=Irvine, L. M.|author9=Palacios, D. M.|author10=Mate, B. R.|year=2019|title=Memory and resource tracking drive blue whale migrations|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116|issue=12|pages=5582–5587|doi=10.1073/pnas.1819031116| pmid=30804188 | pmc=6431148 |bibcode=2019PNAS..116.5582A | doi-access=free }}</ref> There is evidence of alternative strategies, such as year-round residency, and partial (where only some individuals migrate) or age/sex-based migration. Some whales have been recorded feeding in breeding grounds.<ref name=Geijer_etal_2016>{{cite journal | author1=Geijer, C. K. | author2=Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. | author3=Panigada, S. | title=Mysticete migration revisited: Are Mediterranean fin whales an anomaly? | journal=Mammal Review | volume=46 | issue=4 | pages=284–296 | date=2016| doi=10.1111/mam.12069 | bibcode=2016MamRv..46..284G }}</ref> Blue whale typically swim at {{convert|2|–|8|km/h|sp=us}} but may swim faster at {{convert|32|–|36|km/h|sp=us}} during encounters with boats, predators or other individuals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=EEN|first1=BREIWICK|title=Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus)|page=13|url=https://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr_blue_whale_e.pdf|access-date=24 February 2025}}</ref> Their massive size limits their ability to [[Cetacean surfacing behaviour#Breaching and lunging|breach]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Segre, P. S.|author2=Potvin, J|author3=Cade, D. E.|author4=Calambokidis, J|author5=Di Clemente , J|author6=Fish, F. E.|author7=Friedlaender, A. S.|author8=Gough, W. T.|author9=Kahane-Rapport, S. R.|author10=Oliveira, C|author11=Parks, S. E.|author12=Penry, G. S.|author13=Simon, M|author14=Stimpert, A. K.|author15=Wiley, D. N.|author16=Bierlich, K. C.|author17=Madsen, P. T.|author18=Goldbogen, J. A.|year=2020|title=Energetic and physical limitations on the breaching performance of large whales|journal=Physics of Living Systems|volume=9 |doi=10.7554/eLife.51760 |pmid=32159511 |pmc=7065846 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
+The blue whale is usually solitary, but can be found in pairs. When productivity is high enough, blue whales can be seen in gatherings of more than 50 individuals.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/> Populations may go on long [[Animal migration|migrations]], traveling to their summer feeding grounds towards the poles and then heading to their winter breeding grounds in more equatorial waters.<ref name=NOAAblue>{{cite web|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/blue-whale#overview | title=Blue Whale | publisher=NOAA Fisheries | access-date= 11 November 2019}}</ref> The animals appear to use memory to locate the best feeding areas.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Abrahms, B.|author2=Hazen, E. L.|author3=Aikens, E. O.|author4=Savoca, M. S.|author5=Goldbogen, J. A.|author6=Goldbogen, S. J.|author7=Jacox, M. G.|author8=Irvine, L. M.|author9=Palacios, D. M.|author10=Mate, B. R.|year=2019|title=Memory and resource tracking drive blue whale migrations|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116|issue=12|pages=5582–5587|doi=10.1073/pnas.1819031116| pmid=30804188 | pmc=6431148 |bibcode=2019PNAS..116.5582A | doi-access=free }}</ref> There is evidence of alternative strategies, such as year-round residency, and partial (where only some individuals migrate) or age/sex-based migration. Some whales have been recorded feeding in breeding grounds.<ref name=Geijer_etal_2016>{{cite journal | author1=Geijer, C. K. | author2=Notarbartolo di Sciara, G. | author3=Panigada, S. | title=Mysticete migration revisited: Are Mediterranean fin whales an anomaly? | journal=Mammal Review | volume=46 | issue=4 | pages=284–296 | date=2016| doi=10.1111/mam.12069 | bibcode=2016MamRv..46..284G }}</ref> Blue whale typically swim at {{cvt|2|–|8|km/h|sp=us}} but may swim faster at {{cvt|32|–|48|km/h|sp=us}} during encounters with boats, predators or other individuals.<ref name="AUS2002" /><ref name="Cavendish">{{Cite book |last=Cavendish |first=Marshall|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c4TnNFY2A6sC&dq=Blue+whale&pg=PA1631 |title=Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World |date=2001 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation|isbn=978-0-7614-7206-3 |page=1631-1632 |language=en}}</ref> However, it is unclear whether the blue whale can actually reach a speed of {{cvt|10.9|m/s|km/h mph|sp=us}}, and the most reliably reported maximum speed was {{cvt|7.5|m/s|km/h mph|sp=us}}.<ref name=Paolo_S_Segre/> The maximum speed derived from satellite tracking data was {{cvt|5.3|m/s|km/h mph|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Calderan |first1=Susannah V. |last2=Leaper |first2=Russell |last3=Andrews-Goff |first3=Virginia |last4=Miller |first4=Brian S. |last5=Olson |first5=Paula A. |last6=Reyes Reyes |first6=M. V. |last7=Bell |first7=Elanor |last8=Double |first8=Michael C. |year=2023 |title=Surfacing rates, swim speeds, and patterns of movement of Antarctic blue whales |journal=Sec. Marine Ecosystem Ecology |volume=26 |doi=10.3389/fmars.2023.1087967 |s2cid=256234692 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Their massive size limits their ability to [[Cetacean surfacing behaviour#Breaching and lunging|breach]].<ref name=Paolo_S_Segre>{{cite journal|author1=Segre, P. S.|author2=Potvin, J|author3=Cade, D. E.|author4=Calambokidis, J|author5=Di Clemente , J|author6=Fish, F. E.|author7=Friedlaender, A. S.|author8=Gough, W. T.|author9=Kahane-Rapport, S. R.|author10=Oliveira, C|author11=Parks, S. E.|author12=Penry, G. S.|author13=Simon, M|author14=Stimpert, A. K.|author15=Wiley, D. N.|author16=Bierlich, K. C.|author17=Madsen, P. T.|author18=Goldbogen, J. A. |title=Energetic and physical limitations on the breaching performance of large whales |journal=eLife |date=2020 |volume=9 |article-number=e51760 |doi=10.7554/eLife.51760 |pmid=32159511 |pmc=7065846 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
-The greatest dive depth reported from tagged blue whales was {{convert|315|m|sp=us}}.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> Their theoretical aerobic dive limit was estimated at 31.2 minutes,<ref name=Croll_etal_2001>{{cite journal | author1=Croll, D. A. | author2=Aceveo-Gutierrez, A. | author3=Tershy, B. R. | author4=Urban-Ramirez, J. | title=The diving behavior of blue and fin whales: Is dive duration shorter than expected based on oxygen stores? | journal= Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology| volume=129 | issue=4 | pages=797–809 | date=2010| doi=10.1016/S1095-6433(01)00348-8 | pmid=11440866 }}</ref> however, the longest dive measured was 15.2 minutes.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> The deepest confirmed dive from a pygmy blue whale was {{convert|506|m|sp=us}}.<ref name=Owen_etal_2016>{{cite journal | author1=Owen, K. | author2=Jenner, C. S. | author3=Jenner, M.-N. M. | author4=Andrews, R. D. | title=A week in the life of a pygmy blue whale: migratory dive depth overlaps with large vessel drafts | journal=Animal Biotelemetry | volume=4 | issue=17 | pages=1–11 | date=2016 | doi=10.1186/s40317-016-0109-4| doi-access=free | bibcode=2016AnBio...4...17O }}</ref> A blue whale's heart rate can drop to 2 beats per minute (bpm) at deep depths, but upon surfacing, can rise to 37 bpm, which is close to its peak heart rate.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Goldbogen, J. A.|author2=Cade, D. E.|author3=Calambokidis, J.|author4=Czapanskiy, M. F.|author5=Fahlbusch, J.|author6=Friedlaender, A. S.|author7=Gough, W. T.|author8=Kahane-Rapport, S. R.|author9=Savoca, M. S.|author10=Ponganis, K. V.|author11=Ponganis, P. J.|year=2019|title=Extreme bradycardia and tachycardia in the world's largest animal|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116|issue=50|pages=25329–25332|doi=10.1073/pnas.1914273116| pmid=31767746 | pmc=6911174 |bibcode=2019PNAS..11625329G | doi-access=free }}</ref>
+The greatest dive depth reported from tagged blue whales was {{convert|315|m|sp=us}}.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> Their theoretical aerobic dive limit was estimated at 31.2 minutes,<ref name=Croll_etal_2001>{{cite journal | author1=Croll, D. A. | author2=Aceveo-Gutierrez, A. | author3=Tershy, B. R. | author4=Urban-Ramirez, J. | title=The diving behavior of blue and fin whales: Is dive duration shorter than expected based on oxygen stores? | journal= Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology| volume=129 | issue=4 | pages=797–809 | date=2010| doi=10.1016/S1095-6433(01)00348-8 | pmid=11440866 }}</ref> however, the longest dive measured was 15.2 minutes.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> The deepest confirmed dive from a pygmy blue whale was {{convert|506|m|sp=us}}.<ref name=Owen_etal_2016>{{cite journal | author1=Owen, K. | author2=Jenner, C. S. | author3=Jenner, M.-N. M. | author4=Andrews, R. D. | title=A week in the life of a pygmy blue whale: migratory dive depth overlaps with large vessel drafts | journal=Animal Biotelemetry | volume=4 | issue=17 | pages=1–11 | date=2016 | article-number=17 | doi=10.1186/s40317-016-0109-4| doi-access=free | bibcode=2016AnBio...4...17O }}</ref> A blue whale's heart rate can drop to 2 beats per minute (bpm) at deep depths, but upon surfacing, can rise to 37 bpm, which is close to its peak heart rate.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Goldbogen, J. A.|author2=Cade, D. E.|author3=Calambokidis, J.|author4=Czapanskiy, M. F.|author5=Fahlbusch, J.|author6=Friedlaender, A. S.|author7=Gough, W. T.|author8=Kahane-Rapport, S. R.|author9=Savoca, M. S.|author10=Ponganis, K. V.|author11=Ponganis, P. J.|year=2019|title=Extreme bradycardia and tachycardia in the world's largest animal|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|volume=116|issue=50|pages=25329–25332|doi=10.1073/pnas.1914273116| pmid=31767746 | pmc=6911174 |bibcode=2019PNAS..11625329G | doi-access=free }}</ref>
 ===Diet and feeding===
-[[File:Blue-whale.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph blue whale near surface with throat bulging | Blue near the surface after feeding]]
+[[File:Blue-whale.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph blue whale near surface with throat bulging | Blue whale near the surface after feeding]]
-The blue whale's diet consists almost exclusively of [[krill]].<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/> Blue whales capture krill through lunge feeding; they swim towards them at high speeds as they open their mouths up to 80°.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> They may engulf {{convert|220|t|sp=us}} of water at one time.<ref name=Fossette_etal_2017>{{cite journal | author1=Fossette, S. | author2=Abrahms, B. | author3=Hazen, E. L. | author4=Bograd, S. J. | author5=Zilliacus, K. M. | author6=Calambokidis, J. | author7=Burrows, J. A. | author8=Goldbogen, J. A. | author9=Harvey, J. T. | author10=Marinovic, B. | author11=Tershy, B. | author12=Croll, D. A. | title=Resource partitioning facilitates coexistence in sympatric cetaceans in the California Current | journal=[[Ecology and Evolution]] | volume=7 | issue=1 | pages=9085–9097 | date=2017| doi=10.1002/ece3.3409 | pmid=29152200 | pmc=5677487 | bibcode=2017EcoEv...7.9085F }}</ref> They squeeze the water out through their baleen plates with pressure from the throat pouch and tongue, and swallow the remaining krill.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011>{{cite journal | author1=Goldbogen, J. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Oleson, E. | author4=Potvin, J.|author5-link=Nicholas Pyenson | author5=Pyenson, N. D. | author6=Schorr, G. | author7=Shadwick, R. E. | title=Mechanics, hydrodynamics and energetics of blue whale lunge feeding: Efficiency dependence on krill density | journal=Journal of Experimental Biology | volume=214 | issue=1 | pages=131–46 | date=2011| doi=10.1242/jeb.048157 | pmid=21147977 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2011JExpB.214..131G }}</ref> Blue whales have been recorded making 180° rolls during lunge-feeding, possibly allowing them to search the prey field and find the densest patches.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2012>{{cite journal | author1=Goldbogen, J. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Friedlaender, A. S. | author4=Francis, J. | author5=DeRuiter, A. L. | author6=Stimpert, A. K. | author7=Falcone, E. | author8=Southall, B. L. | title=Underwater acrobatics by the world's largest predator: 360° rolling manoeuvres by lunge-feeding blue whales | journal=[[Biology Letters]] | volume=9 | issue=1 | doi=10.1098/rsbl.2012.0986 | pmid=23193050 | pmc=3565519 | page=20120986 | date=2012}}</ref>
+The blue whale's diet consists almost exclusively of [[krill]], which they capture through [[lunge feeding]], where they swim towards krill at high speeds with their mouths open up to 80 degrees.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> They may engulf {{convert|220|t|sp=us}} of water at one time.<ref name=Fossette_etal_2017>{{cite journal | author1=Fossette, S. | author2=Abrahms, B. | author3=Hazen, E. L. | author4=Bograd, S. J. | author5=Zilliacus, K. M. | author6=Calambokidis, J. | author7=Burrows, J. A. | author8=Goldbogen, J. A. | author9=Harvey, J. T. | author10=Marinovic, B. | author11=Tershy, B. | author12=Croll, D. A. | title=Resource partitioning facilitates coexistence in sympatric cetaceans in the California Current | journal=[[Ecology and Evolution]] | volume=7 | issue=1 | pages=9085–9097 | date=2017| doi=10.1002/ece3.3409 | pmid=29152200 | pmc=5677487 | bibcode=2017EcoEv...7.9085F }}</ref> They squeeze the water out through their baleen plates with pressure from the throat pouch and tongue, and swallow the remaining krill.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011>{{cite journal | author1=Goldbogen, J. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Oleson, E. | author4=Potvin, J.|author5-link=Nicholas Pyenson | author5=Pyenson, N. D. | author6=Schorr, G. | author7=Shadwick, R. E. | title=Mechanics, hydrodynamics and energetics of blue whale lunge feeding: Efficiency dependence on krill density | journal=Journal of Experimental Biology | volume=214 | issue=1 | pages=131–46 | date=2011| doi=10.1242/jeb.048157 | pmid=21147977 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2011JExpB.214..131G }}</ref> Blue whales have been recorded making 180° rolls during lunge-feeding, possibly allowing them to search the prey field and find the densest patches.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2012>{{cite journal | author1=Goldbogen, J. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Friedlaender, A. S. | author4=Francis, J. | author5=DeRuiter, A. L. | author6=Stimpert, A. K. | author7=Falcone, E. | author8=Southall, B. L. | title=Underwater acrobatics by the world's largest predator: 360° rolling manoeuvres by lunge-feeding blue whales | journal=[[Biology Letters]] | volume=9 | issue=1 | doi=10.1098/rsbl.2012.0986 | pmid=23193050 | pmc=3565519 | article-number=20120986 | date=2012}}</ref>
-While pursuing krill patches, blue whales maximize their calorie intake by increasing the number of lunges while selecting the thickest patches. This provides them enough energy for everyday activities while storing additional energy necessary for migration and reproduction. Due to their size, blue whales have larger energetic demands than most animals resulting in their need for this specific feeding habit.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barlow |first=Dawn R. |date=2023 |title=Shaped by their Environment: Variation in Blue Whale Morphology Across Three Productive Coastal Ecosystems |url=https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/5/1/obad039/7438866 |access-date=23 November 2024 |journal=Integrative Organismal Biology|volume=5 |doi=10.1093/iob/obad039 }}</ref> Blue whales have to engulf densities greater than 100 krill/m<sup>3</sup> to maintain the cost of lunge feeding.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/><ref name=Hazen_etal_2015>{{cite journal | author1=Hazen, E. L. | author2=Friedlaender, A. S. | author3=Goldbogen, J. A. | title=Blue whales ("Balaenoptera musculus") optimize foraging efficiency by balancing oxygen use and energy gain as a function of prey density | journal=Science Advances | volume=1 | issue=9 | page=e1500469 | date=2015| bibcode=2015SciA....1E0469H | doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500469 | pmid=26601290 | pmc=4646804 | doi-access=free }}</ref> They can consume {{convert|34,776|–|1,912,680|kJ|kcal|sp=us}} from one mouthful of krill, which can provide up to 240 times more energy than used in a single lunge.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> It is estimated that an average-sized blue whale must consume {{convert|1,120|±|359|kg|sp=us}} of krill a day.<ref name=Brodie_1975>{{cite journal | author1=Brodie, P. F. | title=Cetacean energetics, an overview of intraspecific size variation | journal=Ecology | volume=56 | issue=1 | pages=152–161 | date=1975| doi=10.2307/1935307 | jstor=1935307 | bibcode=1975Ecol...56..152B }}</ref><ref name=Croll_etal_2006>{{cite book | author1=Croll, D. A. | author2=Kudela, R. | author3=Tershy, B. R. | title=Whales, Whaling and Ocean Ecosystems | chapter=Ecosystem impact of the decline of large whales in the North Pacific | publisher=University of California Press | location=Berkeley, CA | editor1-last=Estes | editor1-first=J. A. | pages=202–214 | date=2006}}</ref>  On average, a blue whale eats {{cvt|4|t|sp=}} each day.<ref name=natgeo/>
+While pursuing krill patches, blue whales maximize their calorie intake by increasing the number of lunges while selecting the thickest patches. This provides them enough energy for everyday activities while storing additional energy necessary for migration and reproduction. Due to their size blue whales have larger energetic demands than most animals, resulting in their need for this specific feeding habit.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barlow |first=Dawn R. |date=2023 |title=Shaped by their Environment: Variation in Blue Whale Morphology Across Three Productive Coastal Ecosystems |url=https://academic.oup.com/iob/article/5/1/obad039/7438866 |access-date=23 November 2024 |journal=Integrative Organismal Biology|volume=5 |issue=1 |article-number=obad039 |doi=10.1093/iob/obad039 |pmid=38078056 |pmc=10701340 }}</ref> Blue whales have to engulf densities greater than 100 krill/m<sup>3</sup> to maintain the cost of lunge feeding.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/><ref name=Hazen_etal_2015>{{cite journal | author1=Hazen, E. L. | author2=Friedlaender, A. S. | author3=Goldbogen, J. A. | title=Blue whales ("Balaenoptera musculus") optimize foraging efficiency by balancing oxygen use and energy gain as a function of prey density | journal=Science Advances | volume=1 | issue=9 | article-number=e1500469 | date=2015| bibcode=2015SciA....1E0469H | doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500469 | pmid=26601290 | pmc=4646804 | doi-access=free }}</ref> They can consume {{convert|34,776|–|1,912,680|kJ|kcal|sp=us}} from one mouthful of krill, which can provide up to 240 times more energy than used in a single lunge.<ref name=Goldbogen_etal_2011/> It is estimated that an average-sized blue whale must consume {{convert|1,120|±|359|kg|sp=us}} of krill a day.<ref name=Brodie_1975>{{cite journal | author1=Brodie, P. F. | title=Cetacean energetics, an overview of intraspecific size variation | journal=Ecology | volume=56 | issue=1 | pages=152–161 | date=1975| doi=10.2307/1935307 | jstor=1935307 | bibcode=1975Ecol...56..152B }}</ref><ref name=Croll_etal_2006>{{cite book | author1=Croll, D. A. | author2=Kudela, R. | author3=Tershy, B. R. | title=Whales, Whaling and Ocean Ecosystems | chapter=Ecosystem impact of the decline of large whales in the North Pacific | publisher=University of California Press | location=Berkeley, CA | editor1-last=Estes | editor1-first=J. A. | pages=202–214 | date=2006}}</ref>  On average, a blue whale eats {{cvt|4|t|sp=}} each day.<ref name=natgeo/>
-In the southern ocean, blue whales feed on [[Antarctic krill]] (''Euphausia superba''). In the South Australia, pygmy blue whales (''B. m. brevicauda'') feeds on ''[[Nyctiphanes australis]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=de Vos |first1=Asha |last2=Faux |first2=Cassandra E. |last3=Marthick |first3=James |last4=Dickinson |first4=Joanne |last5=Jarman |first5=Simon N. |date=6 April 2018 |title=New Determination of Prey and Parasite Species for Northern Indian Ocean Blue Whales |journal=Frontiers in Marine Science |language=English |volume=5 |page=104 |doi=10.3389/fmars.2018.00104 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018FrMaS...5..104D |issn=2296-7745}}</ref> In California, they feed mostly on ''[[Thysanoessa spinifera]],'' but also less commonly on North pacific krill (''[[Euphausia pacifica]]'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fiedler |first1=Paul C. |last2=Reilly |first2=Stephen B. |last3=Hewitt |first3=Roger P. |last4=Demer |first4=David |last5=Philbrick |first5=Valerie A. |last6=Smith |first6=Susan |last7=Armstrong |first7=Wesley |last8=Croll |first8=Donald A. |last9=Tershy |first9=Bernie R. |last10=Mate |first10=Bruce R. |date=1 August 1998 |title=Blue whale habitat and prey in the California Channel Islands |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064598800179 |journal=Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |volume=45 |issue=8 |pages=1781–1801 |doi=10.1016/S0967-0645(98)80017-9 |bibcode=1998DSRII..45.1781F |issn=0967-0645|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Research of the Eastern North Pacific population shows that when diving to feed on krill, the whales reach an average depth of 201 meters, with dives lasting 9.8 minutes on average.<ref name=":1" />
+In the southern ocean, blue whales feed on [[Antarctic krill]] (''Euphausia superba''). In the South Australia, pygmy blue whales (''B. m. brevicauda'') feeds on ''[[Nyctiphanes australis]]''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=de Vos |first1=Asha |last2=Faux |first2=Cassandra E. |last3=Marthick |first3=James |last4=Dickinson |first4=Joanne |last5=Jarman |first5=Simon N. |date=6 April 2018 |title=New Determination of Prey and Parasite Species for Northern Indian Ocean Blue Whales |journal=Frontiers in Marine Science |language=English |volume=5 |article-number=104 |doi=10.3389/fmars.2018.00104 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018FrMaS...5..104D |issn=2296-7745}}</ref> In California, they feed mostly on ''[[Thysanoessa spinifera]],'' but also less commonly on North pacific krill (''[[Euphausia pacifica]]'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fiedler |first1=Paul C. |last2=Reilly |first2=Stephen B. |last3=Hewitt |first3=Roger P. |last4=Demer |first4=David |last5=Philbrick |first5=Valerie A. |last6=Smith |first6=Susan |last7=Armstrong |first7=Wesley |last8=Croll |first8=Donald A. |last9=Tershy |first9=Bernie R. |last10=Mate |first10=Bruce R. |date=1 August 1998 |title=Blue whale habitat and prey in the California Channel Islands |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0967064598800179 |journal=Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography |volume=45 |issue=8 |pages=1781–1801 |doi=10.1016/S0967-0645(98)80017-9 |bibcode=1998DSRII..45.1781F |issn=0967-0645|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Research of the Eastern North Pacific population shows that when diving to feed on krill, the whales reach an average depth of 201 meters, with dives lasting 9.8 minutes on average.<ref name=":1" />
 While most blue whales feed almost exclusively on krill, the Northern Indian Ocean subspecies (''B. m. indica'') instead feeds predominantly on [[Sergestidae|sergestid]] shrimp. To do so, they dive deeper and for longer periods of time than blue whales in other regions of the world, with dives of 10.7 minutes on average, and a hypothesized dive depth of about 300 meters. Fecal analysis also found the presence of fish, krill, [[Amphipoda|amphipods]], [[cephalopod]]s, and [[Scyphozoa|scyphozoan jellyfish]] in their diet.<ref name=":1" />
@@ Line 151: / Line 156: @@
 ===Reproduction and birth===
 [[File:BlueWhaleWithCalf.jpg|thumb|alt=Photograph of a blue whale calf and its mother | A blue whale calf with its mother]]
-The age of sexual maturity for blue whales is thought to be 5–15 years.<ref>{{cite web |last1=JM|first1=BREIWICK|title=The Blue Whale|page=17|url=https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/MFR/mfr464/mfr4644.pdf|access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref> In the Northern Hemisphere, the length at which they reach maturity is {{convert|21|–|23|m|sp=us}} for females and {{convert|20|–|21|m|sp=us}} for males. In the Southern Hemisphere, the length of maturity is {{convert|23|–|24|m|sp=us}} and {{convert|22|m|sp=us}} for females and males respectively.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018>{{cite book | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Perrin, W. F. | title=Encyclopedia of marine mammals | chapter=Blue Whale: "Balaenoptera musculus" | publisher=Academic Press | location=London, UK | editor1-last=Würsig | editor1-first=B. | editor2-last=Thewissen | editor2-first=J. G. M. | editor3-last=Kovacs | editor3-first=K. M. | pages=110–114 | date=2018}}</ref> Male pygmy blue whales average {{convert|61.4|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} at sexual maturity.<ref name=Ichihara_1964>{{cite journal | author1=Ichihara T. | title=The pygmy blue whale, ''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'', a new subspecies from Antarctic | journal=Norsk. Hvalf. Tid. | volume=6 | date=1964}}</ref><ref name=Sazhinov_1970>{{cite journal | author1=Sazhinov E. G. | title=The onset of sexual and physical maturity for pygmy blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda''. Ichinara. 1966) | journal=Whales of the Southern Hemisphere | issue=29 | pages=34–40 | date=1970}}</ref> Female pygmy blue whales are {{convert|68.9|–|71.2|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} in length<ref name=Branch_2007a/> and roughly 10 years old at the age of sexual maturity.<ref name=Branch_2007a/><ref name=Gilpatrick_Perryman_2008/><ref name=Branch_Mikhalev_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Branch, T. A. | author2=Mikhalev, Y. A. | title=Regional differences in length at sexual maturity for female blue whales based on recovered Soviet whaling data | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=24 | issue=3 | pages=690–703 | date=2008| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00214.x | bibcode=2008MMamS..24..690B }}</ref> Since corpora are added every ~2.5 years after sexual maturity, physical maturity is assumed to occur at 35 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sex ratios in blue whales from conception onward|page=23|url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/63149/noaa_63149_DS1.pdf|access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref> Little is known about mating behavior, or breeding and birthing areas.<ref name=Mizroch_1984/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> Blue whales appear to be [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]], with males competing for females.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/><ref name=Sears_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Ramp, C. | author3=Douglas, A. B. | author4=Calambokidis, J. | title=Reproductive parameters of eastern North Pacific blue whales ''Balaenoptera musculus'' | journal=Endangered Species Research | volume=22 | issue=1 | pages=23–31 | date=2013| doi=10.3354/esr00532 | doi-access=free }}</ref> A male blue whale typically trails a female and will fight off potential rivals.<ref name=Schall_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Schall, E. | author2=Di Lorio, L. | author3=Berchok, C. | author4=Filún, D. | author5=Bedriñana-Romano, L. | author6=Buchan, S. J. | author7=Van Opzeeland, I. | author8=Sears, R. | author9=Hucke-Gaete, R. | title=Visual and passive acoustic observations of blue whale trios from two distinct populations | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=36 | issue=1 | doi=10.1111/mms.12643 | pages=365–374 | date=2019| doi-access=free | hdl=1912/24953 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> The species mates from fall to winter.<ref name=Mizroch_1984/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/>
+The age of sexual maturity in blue whales is thought to be between 5 and 15 years,<ref>{{cite web |last1=JM|first1=BREIWICK|title=The Blue Whale|page=17|url=https://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf-content/MFR/mfr464/mfr4644.pdf|access-date=23 February 2025}}</ref><ref name="AUS2002" /> with females reaching an average of 10 years and males reaching an average of 12 years.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Koski |first1=William R. |last2=George |first2=J. Craig  |last3=Würsig |first3=Bernd |title=Sex in Cetaceans |chapter=Bowhead Whale Reproductive Strategies |date=2023 |pages=521–541 |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-35651-3_22 |isbn=978-3-031-35650-6 }}</ref> In the Northern Hemisphere, the length at which they reach maturity is {{convert|21|–|23|m|sp=us}} for females and {{convert|20|–|21|m|sp=us}} for males. In the Southern Hemisphere, the length of maturity is {{convert|23|–|24|m|sp=us}} and {{convert|22|m|sp=us}} for females and males respectively.<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> Male pygmy blue whales average {{convert|61.4|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} at sexual maturity.<ref name=Ichihara_1964>{{cite journal | author1=Ichihara T. | title=The pygmy blue whale, ''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'', a new subspecies from Antarctic | journal=Norsk. Hvalf. Tid. | volume=6 | date=1964}}</ref><ref name=Sazhinov_1970>{{cite journal | author1=Sazhinov E. G. | title=The onset of sexual and physical maturity for pygmy blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda''. Ichinara. 1966) | journal=Whales of the Southern Hemisphere | issue=29 | pages=34–40 | date=1970}}</ref> Female pygmy blue whales are {{convert|68.9|–|71.2|ft|order=flip|sp=us}} in length<ref name=Branch_2007a/> and roughly 10 years old at the age of sexual maturity.<ref name=Branch_2007a/><ref name=Gilpatrick_Perryman_2008/><ref name=Branch_Mikhalev_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Branch, T. A. | author2=Mikhalev, Y. A. | title=Regional differences in length at sexual maturity for female blue whales based on recovered Soviet whaling data | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=24 | issue=3 | pages=690–703 | date=2008| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00214.x | bibcode=2008MMamS..24..690B }}</ref> Since corpora are added every ~2.5 years after sexual maturity, physical maturity is assumed to occur at 35 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sex ratios in blue whales from conception onward|page=23|url=https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/63149/noaa_63149_DS1.pdf|access-date=7 February 2025}}</ref> Little is known about mating behavior, or breeding and birthing areas.<ref name=Mizroch_1984/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> Blue whales appear to be [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]], with males competing for females.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/><ref name=Sears_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Sears, R. | author2=Ramp, C. | author3=Douglas, A. B. | author4=Calambokidis, J. | title=Reproductive parameters of eastern North Pacific blue whales ''Balaenoptera musculus'' | journal=Endangered Species Research | volume=22 | issue=1 | pages=23–31 | date=2013| doi=10.3354/esr00532 | doi-access=free }}</ref> A male blue whale typically trails a female and will fight off potential rivals.<ref name=Schall_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Schall, E. | author2=Di Lorio, L. | author3=Berchok, C. | author4=Filún, D. | author5=Bedriñana-Romano, L. | author6=Buchan, S. J. | author7=Van Opzeeland, I. | author8=Sears, R. | author9=Hucke-Gaete, R. | title=Visual and passive acoustic observations of blue whale trios from two distinct populations | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=36 | issue=1 | doi=10.1111/mms.12643 | pages=365–374 | date=2019| doi-access=free | hdl=1912/24953 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> The species mates from fall to winter.<ref name=Mizroch_1984/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/>
-Pregnant females eat roughly four percent of their body weight daily,<ref name=Sergeant_1969>{{cite journal | author1=Sergeant, D. E. | title=Feeding rates of Cetacea | journal=Fiskeridir. SKR. Havundersok | volume=15 | pages=246–258 | date=1969}}</ref> amounting to 60% of their overall body weight throughout summer foraging periods.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/><ref name=Lockyer_1984b>{{cite journal | author1=Lockyer, C. | title=Review of baleen whale (Mysticeti) reproduction and implications for management | journal=Report of the International Whaling Commission | volume=6 | pages=27–50 | date=1984}}</ref> [[Gestation]] may last 10–12 months with calves being {{convert|6|–|7|m|sp=us}} long and weighing {{convert|2|–|3|t|sp=us}} at birth.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> Estimates suggest that because calves require {{convert|2|-|4|kg|sp=us}} milk per kg of mass gain, blue whales likely produce {{convert|220|kg|sp=us}} of milk per day (ranging from {{convert|110|to|320|kg|sp=us}} of milk per day).<ref name=Oftedal_1997>{{cite journal | author1=Oftedal, O. T. | s2cid=19588882 | title=Lactation in whales and dolphins: Evidence of divergence between baleen- and toothed-species | journal=Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia | volume=2 | issue=3 | pages=205–230 | date=1997| doi=10.1023/A:1026328203526 | pmid=10882306 }}</ref> The first video of a calf thought to be nursing was filmed in New Zealand in 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/03/160302-blue-whale-mother-calf-nursing-video-pygmy-new-zealand/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231040656/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/03/160302-blue-whale-mother-calf-nursing-video-pygmy-new-zealand/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=31 December 2019 | title=Exclusive Video May Show Blue Whale Calf Nursing | date=2 March 2016 | publisher=[[National Geographic]] | access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref> Calves may be [[weaned]] when they reach 6–8 months old at a length of {{convert|53|ft|order=flip|sp=us}}.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> They gain roughly {{convert|37,500|lb|sp=us}} during the weaning period.<ref name=Lockyer_1981/> Interbirth periods last two to three years;<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> they average 2.6 years in pygmy blue whales.<ref name=Branch_2008/> Mother-calf pairings are infrequently observed, and this may be due to mothers birthing and weaning their young in-between their entry and return to their summer feeding grounds.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Branch|first=T. A.|year=2025|title=Timing hypothesis explains the mystery of the missing blue whale calves|journal=Endangered Species Research|volume=56|pages=53–67|doi=10.3354/esr01383|doi-access=free}}</ref>
+Pregnant females eat roughly four percent of their body weight daily,<ref name=Sergeant_1969>{{cite journal | author1=Sergeant, D. E. | title=Feeding rates of Cetacea | journal=Fiskeridir. SKR. Havundersok | volume=15 | pages=246–258 | date=1969}}</ref> amounting to 60% of their overall body weight throughout summer foraging periods.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/><ref name=Lockyer_1984b>{{cite journal | author1=Lockyer, C. | title=Review of baleen whale (Mysticeti) reproduction and implications for management | journal=Report of the International Whaling Commission | volume=6 | pages=27–50 | date=1984}}</ref> [[Gestation]] may last 10–12 months with calves being {{convert|6|–|7|m|sp=us}} long and weighing {{convert|2|–|3|t|sp=us}} at birth.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> Estimates suggest that because calves require {{convert|2|-|4|kg|sp=us}} milk per kg of mass gain, blue whales likely produce {{convert|220|kg|sp=us}} of milk per day (ranging from {{convert|110|to|320|kg|sp=us}} of milk per day).<ref name=Oftedal_1997>{{cite journal | author1=Oftedal, O. T. | s2cid=19588882 | title=Lactation in whales and dolphins: Evidence of divergence between baleen- and toothed-species | journal=Journal of Mammary Gland Biology and Neoplasia | volume=2 | issue=3 | pages=205–230 | date=1997| doi=10.1023/A:1026328203526 | pmid=10882306 }}</ref> The first video of a calf thought to be nursing was filmed in New Zealand in 2016.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/03/160302-blue-whale-mother-calf-nursing-video-pygmy-new-zealand/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231040656/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/03/160302-blue-whale-mother-calf-nursing-video-pygmy-new-zealand/ | archive-date=31 December 2019 | title=Exclusive Video May Show Blue Whale Calf Nursing | date=2 March 2016 | publisher=[[National Geographic]] | access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref> Calves may be [[weaned]] when they reach 6–8 months old at a length of {{convert|53|ft|order=flip|sp=us}}.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> A newborn blue whale calf gains approximately {{convert|90|kg|sp=us}} per day.<ref name=Jefferson/> They gain roughly {{convert|37,500|lb|sp=us}} during the weaning period.<ref name=Lockyer_1981/> Interbirth periods last two to three years;<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> they average 2.6 years in pygmy blue whales.<ref name=Branch_2008/> Mother-calf pairings are infrequently observed, and this may be due to mothers birthing and weaning their young in-between their entry and return to their summer feeding grounds.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Branch|first=T. A.|year=2025|title=Timing hypothesis explains the mystery of the missing blue whale calves|journal=Endangered Species Research|volume=56|pages=53–67|doi=10.3354/esr01383|doi-access=free}}</ref>
 ===Vocalizations===
@@ Line 179: / Line 184: @@
   | format5      = [[Ogg]]
 }}
-Blue whales produce some of the loudest and lowest [[frequency]] vocalizations in the animal kingdom,<ref name=NOAA/> and their inner ears appear well adapted for detecting [[Low frequency|low-frequency]] sounds.<ref name=Yamato_etal_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Yamato, M. | author2=Ketten, D. R. | author3=Arruda, J. | author4=Cramer, S. | title=Biomechanical and structural modeling of hearing in baleen whales | journal=Bioacoustics | volume=17 | issue=1–3 | pages=100–102 | date=2008| doi=10.1080/09524622.2008.9753781 | bibcode=2008Bioac..17..100Y | s2cid=85314872 }}</ref> The [[fundamental frequency]] for blue whale [[Animal communication#Auditory|vocalizations]] ranges from 8 to 25&nbsp;Hz.<ref name=Stafford_etal_1998>{{cite journal | author1=Stafford, K. M. | author2=Fox, G. C. | author3=Clark, D. S. | title=Long-range acoustic detection and localization of blue whale calls in the northeast Pacific Ocean | journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=50 | issue=4 | pages=1193–1198 | date=1998| bibcode=1998ASAJ..104.3616S | doi=10.1121/1.423944 | pmid=9857519 }}</ref> Blue whale songs vary between populations.<ref name=McDonald_etal_2006>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Mesnick, S. L. | author3=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Biogeographic characterization of blue whale song worldwide: Using song to identify populations | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=8 | pages=55–66 | date=2023| doi=10.47536/jcrm.v8i1.702 | s2cid=18769917 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
+Blue whales produce some of the loudest and lowest [[frequency]] vocalizations in the animal kingdom,<ref name=NOAA/> and their inner ears appear well adapted for detecting [[Low frequency|low-frequency]] sounds.<ref name=Yamato_etal_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Yamato, M. | author2=Ketten, D. R. | author3=Arruda, J. | author4=Cramer, S. | title=Biomechanical and structural modeling of hearing in baleen whales | journal=Bioacoustics | volume=17 | issue=1–3 | pages=100–102 | date=2008| doi=10.1080/09524622.2008.9753781 | bibcode=2008Bioac..17..100Y | s2cid=85314872 }}</ref> The [[fundamental frequency]] for blue whale [[Animal communication#Auditory|vocalizations]] ranges from 8 to 25&nbsp;[[Hertz|Hz]].<ref name=Stafford_etal_1998>{{cite journal | author1=Stafford, K. M. | author2=Fox, G. C. | author3=Clark, D. S. | title=Long-range acoustic detection and localization of blue whale calls in the northeast Pacific Ocean | journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=50 | issue=4 | pages=1193–1198 | date=1998| bibcode=1998ASAJ..104.3616S | doi=10.1121/1.423944 | pmid=9857519 }}</ref> The maximum loudness is 188&nbsp;[[decibel|dB]].<ref name=Sears_Perr_2009/><ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> Blue whale songs vary between populations.<ref name=McDonald_etal_2006>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Mesnick, S. L. | author3=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Biogeographic characterization of blue whale song worldwide: Using song to identify populations | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=8 | pages=55–66 | date=2023| doi=10.47536/jcrm.v8i1.702 | s2cid=18769917 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Malige_2022>{{cite journal |last1=Malige |first1=Franck |last2=Patris |first2=Julie |last3=Hauray  |first3=Maxime |last4=Giraudet |first4=Pascale |last5=Glotin |first5=Hervé |last6=Noûs |first6=Camille |title=Mathematical models of long term evolution of blue whale song types' frequencies |journal=Journal of Theoretical Biology |date=June 2022 |volume=548 |article-number=111184 |doi=10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111184 |pmid=35697145 |bibcode=2022JThBi.54811184M |doi-access=free }}</ref>
-Vocalizations produced by the Eastern North Pacific population have been well studied. This population produces pulsed calls ("A") and tonal calls ("B"), upswept tones that precede type B calls ("C") and separate downswept tones ("D").<ref name=Aroyan_etal_2000>{{cite book | author1=Aroyan, J. L. | author2=McDonald, M. A. | author3=Webb, S. C. | author4=Hildebrand, J. A. | author5=Clark, D. S. | author6=Laitman, J. T. | author7=Reidenberg, J. S. | title=Hearing by whales and dolphins | chapter=Acoustic models of sound production and propagation | editor1-last=Au | editor1-first=W. W. A. | editor2-last=Popper | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Fay | editor3-first=R. N. | publisher=Springer-Verlag | location=New York | page=442 | date=2000}}</ref><ref name=McDonald_etal_2001>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Teranishi, A. M. | author4=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=The acoustic calls of blue whales off California with gender data | journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=109 | issue=4 | pages=1728–1735 | date=2001| doi=10.1121/1.1353593 | pmid=11325141 | bibcode=2001ASAJ..109.1728M | url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/6vg9t2g7 }}</ref> A and B calls are often produced in repeated co-occurring sequences and sung only by males, suggesting a reproductive function.<ref name=McDonald_etal_2001/><ref name=Oleson_etal_2007a>{{cite journal | author1=Oleson, E. M. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Burgess, W. C. | author4=McDonald, M. A. | author5=LeDuc, C. A. | author6=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Behavioral context of call production by eastern North Pacific blue whales | journal= [[Marine Ecology Progress Series]]| volume=330 | pages=269–284 | date=2007| doi=10.3354/meps330269 | bibcode=2007MEPS..330..269O | doi-access=free }}</ref> D calls may have multiple functions. They are produced by both sexes during social interactions while feeding.<ref name=Oleson_etal_2007a/><ref name=Lewis_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Lewis, L. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Stimpert, A. K. | author4=Fahlbusch, J. | author5=Friedlaender, A. S. | author6=McKenna, M. F. | author7=Mesnick, S. | author8=Oleson, E. M. | author9=Southall, B. L. | author10=Szesciorka, A. S. | author11=Sirovic, A. | title=Context-dependent variability in blue whale acoustic behaviour | journal=[[Royal Society Open Science]] | volume=5 | issue=8 | page=1080241 | date=2018 | doi=10.1098/rsos.180241| pmid=30225013 | pmc=6124089 }}</ref> and by males when competing for mates.<ref name=Schall_etal_2019/>
+Vocalizations produced by the Eastern North Pacific population have been well studied. This population produces pulsed calls ("A") and tonal calls ("B"), upswept tones that precede type B calls ("C") and separate downswept tones ("D").<ref name=Aroyan_etal_2000>{{cite book | author1=Aroyan, J. L. | author2=McDonald, M. A. | author3=Webb, S. C. | author4=Hildebrand, J. A. | author5=Clark, D. S. | author6=Laitman, J. T. | author7=Reidenberg, J. S. | title=Hearing by whales and dolphins | chapter=Acoustic models of sound production and propagation | editor1-last=Au | editor1-first=W. W. A. | editor2-last=Popper | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Fay | editor3-first=R. N. | publisher=Springer-Verlag | location=New York | page=442 | date=2000}}</ref><ref name=McDonald_etal_2001>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Teranishi, A. M. | author4=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=The acoustic calls of blue whales off California with gender data | journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=109 | issue=4 | pages=1728–1735 | date=2001| doi=10.1121/1.1353593 | pmid=11325141 | bibcode=2001ASAJ..109.1728M | url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/6vg9t2g7 }}</ref> A and B calls are often produced in repeated co-occurring sequences and sung only by males, suggesting a reproductive function.<ref name=McDonald_etal_2001/><ref name=Oleson_etal_2007a>{{cite journal | author1=Oleson, E. M. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Burgess, W. C. | author4=McDonald, M. A. | author5=LeDuc, C. A. | author6=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Behavioral context of call production by eastern North Pacific blue whales | journal= [[Marine Ecology Progress Series]]| volume=330 | pages=269–284 | date=2007| doi=10.3354/meps330269 | bibcode=2007MEPS..330..269O | doi-access=free }}</ref> D calls may have multiple functions. They are produced by both sexes during social interactions while feeding.<ref name=Oleson_etal_2007a/><ref name=Lewis_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Lewis, L. A. | author2=Calambokidis, J. | author3=Stimpert, A. K. | author4=Fahlbusch, J. | author5=Friedlaender, A. S. | author6=McKenna, M. F. | author7=Mesnick, S. | author8=Oleson, E. M. | author9=Southall, B. L. | author10=Szesciorka, A. S. | author11=Sirovic, A. | title=Context-dependent variability in blue whale acoustic behaviour | journal=[[Royal Society Open Science]] | volume=5 | issue=8 | page=1080241 | date=2018 | doi=10.1098/rsos.180241 | doi-access=free| pmid=30225013 | pmc=6124089 | bibcode=2018RSOS....580241L }}</ref> and by males when competing for mates.<ref name=Schall_etal_2019/>
 Blue whale calls recorded off Sri Lanka have a three-unit phrase. The first unit is a 19.8 to 43.5&nbsp;Hz pulsive call, and is normally 17.9 ± 5.2 seconds long. The second unit is a 55.9 to 72.4&nbsp;Hz [[Frequency modulation|FM]] upsweep that is 13.8 ± 1.1 seconds long. The final unit is 28.5 ± 1.6 seconds long with a tone of 108 to 104.7&nbsp;Hz.<ref name=Stafford_etal_2010>{{cite journal | author1=Stafford, K. M. | author2=Chapp, E. | author3=Bohnenstiel, D. | author4=Tolstoy, M. | author4-link=Maya Tolstoy | title=Seasonal detection of three types of "pygmy" blue whale calls in the Indian Ocean | journal=Marine Mammal Science | volume=27 | issue=4 | pages=828–840 | date=2010| doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00437.x }}</ref> A blue whale call recorded off Madagascar, a two-unit phrase,<ref name=Ljungblad_etal_1998>{{cite report | author1=Ljungblad, D. K. | author2=Clark, C. W. | author3=Shimada, H. | title=A comparison of sounds attributed to pygmy blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda'') recorded south of the Madagascar Plateau and those attributed to 'true' blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'') recorded off Antarctica | publisher=International Whaling Commission | volume=48 | pages=439–442 | date=1998}}</ref> consists of 5–7 pulses with a [[center frequency]] of 35.1 ± 0.7&nbsp;Hz lasting 4.4 ± 0.5 seconds proceeding a 35 ± 0&nbsp;Hz tone that is 10.9 ± 1.1 seconds long.<ref name=Stafford_etal_2010/> In the Southern Ocean, blue whales produce 18-second vocals which start with a 9-second-long, 27&nbsp;Hz tone, and then a 1-second downsweep to 19&nbsp;Hz, followed by a downsweep further to 18&nbsp;Hz.<ref name=Sirovic_etal_2004>{{cite journal | author1=Sirovic, A. | author2=Hildebrand, J. A. | author3=Wiggins, S. M. | author4=McDonald, M. A. | author5=Moore, S. E. | author6=Thiele, D. | title=Seasonality of blue and fin whale calls and the influence of sea ice in the Western Antarctic Peninsula | journal=[[Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography]] | volume=51 | issue=17–19 | pages=2327–2344 | date=2004| doi=10.1016/j.dsr2.2004.08.005 | bibcode=2004DSRII..51.2327S }}</ref><ref name=Rankin_etal_2005/> Other vocalizations include 1–4 second long, frequency-modulated calls with a frequency of 80 and 38&nbsp;Hz.<ref name=Rankin_etal_2005>{{cite journal | author1=Rankin, S. | author2=Ljungblad, D. | author3=Clark, C. | author4=Kato, H. | title=Vocalisations of Antarctic blue whales, ''Balaenoptera musculus intermedia'', recorded during the 2001/2002 and 2002/2003 IWC/SOWER circumpolar cruises, Area V, Antarctica | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=7 | pages=13–20 | date=2023| doi=10.47536/jcrm.v7i1.752 | s2cid=43993242 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Sirovic_etal_2006>{{cite journal | author1=Sirovic, A. | author2=Hildebrand, J. A. | author3=Thiele, D. | title=Baleen whales in the Scotia Sea in January and February 2003 | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=8 | pages=161–171 | date=2006| doi=10.47536/jcrm.v8i2.712 | s2cid=251277044 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
-There is evidence that some blue whale songs have temporally declined in tonal frequency.<ref name=Nieukirk_etal_2005>{{cite conference | author1=Nieukirk, S. L. | author2=Mellinger, D. K. | author3=Hildebrand, J. A. | author4=McDonald, M. A. | author5=Dziak, R. P. | title=Downward shift in the frequency of blue whale vocalizations | conference=16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals | location=San Diego, CA | page=205 | date=2005}}</ref><ref name=McDonald_etal_2009>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Hildebrand, J. A. | author3=Mesnick, S. | title=Worldwide decline in tonal frequencies of blue whale songs | journal=Endangered Species Research | volume=9 | pages=13–21 | date=2009| doi=10.3354/esr00217 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Leroy_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Leroy, E. C. | author2=Royer, J.-Y. | author3=Bonnel, J. | author4=Samaran, F. | title=Long-term and seasonal changes of large whale call frequency in the southern Indian Ocean | journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans]] | volume=123 | issue=11 | pages=8568–8580 | date=2018| doi=10.1029/2018JC014352 | bibcode=2018JGRC..123.8568L | s2cid=135201588 | url=https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00516/62730/ | doi-access=free | hdl=1912/10837 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> The vocalization of blue whales in the Eastern North Pacific decreased in tonal frequency by 31% from the early 1960s to the early 21st century.<ref name=Nieukirk_etal_2005/><ref name=McDonald_etal_2009/> The frequency of pygmy blue whales in the Antarctic has decreased by a few tenths of a hertz every year starting in 2002.<ref name=Leroy_etal_2018/> It is possible that as blue whale populations recover from whaling, there is increasing sexual selection pressure (i.e., a lower frequency indicates a larger body size).<ref name=McDonald_etal_2009/>
+There is evidence that some blue whale songs have temporally declined in tonal frequency.<ref name=Nieukirk_etal_2005>{{cite conference | author1=Nieukirk, S. L. | author2=Mellinger, D. K. | author3=Hildebrand, J. A. | author4=McDonald, M. A. | author5=Dziak, R. P. | title=Downward shift in the frequency of blue whale vocalizations | conference=16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals | location=San Diego, CA | page=205 | date=2005}}</ref><ref name=McDonald_etal_2009>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Hildebrand, J. A. | author3=Mesnick, S. | title=Worldwide decline in tonal frequencies of blue whale songs | journal=Endangered Species Research | volume=9 | pages=13–21 | date=2009| doi=10.3354/esr00217 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2009ESRes...9...13M }}</ref><ref name=Leroy_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Leroy, E. C. | author2=Royer, J.-Y. | author3=Bonnel, J. | author4=Samaran, F. | title=Long-term and seasonal changes of large whale call frequency in the southern Indian Ocean | journal=[[Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans]] | volume=123 | issue=11 | pages=8568–8580 | date=2018| doi=10.1029/2018JC014352 | bibcode=2018JGRC..123.8568L | s2cid=135201588 | url=https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00516/62730/ | doi-access=free | hdl=1912/10837 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> The vocalization of blue whales in the Eastern North Pacific decreased in tonal frequency by 31% from the early 1960s to the early 21st century.<ref name=Nieukirk_etal_2005/><ref name=McDonald_etal_2009/> The frequency of pygmy blue whales in the Antarctic has decreased by a few tenths of a hertz every year starting in 2002.<ref name=Leroy_etal_2018/> It is possible that as blue whale populations recover from whaling, there is increasing sexual selection pressure (i.e., a lower frequency indicates a larger body size).<ref name=McDonald_etal_2009/> In February 2025, a study<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ryan |first1=John P. |last2=Oestreich |first2=William K. |last3=Benoit-Bird |first3=Kelly J. |last4=Waluk |first4=Chad M. |last5=Rueda |first5=Carlos A. |last6=Cline |first6=Danelle E. |last7=Zhang |first7=Yanwu |last8=Cheeseman |first8=Ted |last9=Calambokidis |first9=John |last10=Fahlbusch |first10=James A. |last11=Barkowski |first11=Jack |last12=Fleming |first12=Alyson H. |last13=Tomaszewicz |first13=Calandra N. Turner |last14=Santora |first14=Jarrod A. |last15=Margolina |first15=Tetyana |date=2025-02-26 |title=Audible changes in marine trophic ecology: Baleen whale song tracks foraging conditions in the eastern North Pacific |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=20 |issue=2 |article-number=e0318624 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0318624 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11864538 |pmid=40009591 |bibcode=2025PLoSO..2018624R }}</ref> tracing "more than six years of acoustic monitoring" off of California, researchers found that during a heatwave, the blue whales were vocalizing less often, potentially due to needing to spend their energy trying to find food that is increasingly scarce due to the effects of climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-08-03 |title=Blue whales are going eerily silent—and scientists say it's a warning sign |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/ocean-heat-wave-blob-whale-songs |access-date=2025-08-03 |website=Animals |language=en |first=Avery |last=Schuyler Nunn}}</ref> A June 2022 study suggested that the decline in song frequency in blue whales is simply a cultural phenomenon.<ref name="Malige_2022" />
 ===Predators===
-The only known natural predator to blue whales is the [[orca]], although the rate of fatal attacks by orcas is unknown. Photograph-identification studies of blue whales have estimated that a high proportion of the individuals in the [[Gulf of California]] have rake-like scars, indicative of encounters with orcas.<ref name=Sears_1990>{{cite journal | author1=Sears, R. | title=The Cortez blues | journal=Whalewatcher | volume=24 | pages=12–15 | date=1990}}</ref> Off southeastern [[Australia]], 3.7% of blue whales photographed had rake marks and 42.1% of photographed pygmy blue whales off Western Australia had rake marks.<ref name=Mehta_etal_2007>{{cite journal | author1=Mehta, A. V. | author2=Allen, J. M. | author3=Constantine, R. | author4=Garrigue, C. | author5=Jann, B. | author6=Jenner, C. | author7=Marx, M. K. | author8=Matkin, C. O. | author9=Mattila, D. K. | author10=Minton, G. | author11=Mizroch, S. A. | author12=Olavarría, C. | author13=Robbins, J. | author14=Russell, K. G. | author15=Seton, R. E. | title=Baleen whales are not important as prey for orcas (''Orcinus orca'') in high latitudes | journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series | volume=348 | pages=297–307 | date=2007| doi=10.3354/meps07015 | doi-access=free | hdl=1912/4520 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> Documented [[predation]] by orcas has been rare. A blue whale mother and calf were first observed being chased at high speeds by orcas off southeastern Australia.<ref name=Cotton_1944>{{cite journal | author1=Cotton, B. C. | title=Killer whales in South Australia | journal=[[Australian Zoologist]] | volume=10 | pages=293–294 | date=1944}}</ref> The first documented attack occurred in 1977 off southwestern [[Baja California, Mexico]], but the injured whale escaped after five hours.<ref name=Tarpy_1979>{{cite journal | author1=Tarpy, C. | title=Killer whale attack! | journal=National Geographic Magazine | volume=155 | pages=542–545| date=1979}}</ref> Four more blue whales were documented as being chased by a group of orcas between 1982 and 2003.<ref name=Ford_Reeves_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Ford, J. K. B. | author2=Reeves, R. | title=Fight or flight: antipredator strategies of baleen whales | journal=[[Mammal Review]] | volume=38 | issue=1 | pages=50–86 | date=2008| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2008.00118.x | bibcode=2008MamRv..38...50F }}</ref> The first documented predation event by orcas occurred in September 2003, when a group of orcas in the [[Eastern Tropical Pacific]] was encountered feeding on a recently killed blue whale calf.<ref name=Pitman_etal_2007>{{cite journal | author1=Pitman, R. | author2=Fearnbach, H. | author3=LeDuc, R. | author4=Gilpatrick, J. W. | author5=Ford, J. K. B. | author6=Balance, L. T. | title=Killer whales preying on a blue whale calf on the Costa Rica Dome: Genetics, morphometrics, vocalizations and composition of the group | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=9 | pages=151–158 | date=2023| issue=2 | doi=10.47536/jcrm.v9i2.683 | s2cid=257138804 | doi-access=free }}</ref> In March 2014, a commercial whale watch boat operator recorded an incident involving a group of orcas harassing a blue whale in [[Monterey Bay]]. The blue whale defended itself by slapping its tail.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.livescience.com/43879-killer-whales-attack-blue-whale-video.html | title=Killer Whales Bully Lone Blue Whale in Rare Video | date=5 March 2014 | publisher=[[Live Science]] | access-date=23 December 2019}}</ref> A similar incident was recorded by a drone in Monterey Bay in May 2017.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/05/killer-whale-attacks-blue-whale-monterey-drone-video | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231040658/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/05/killer-whale-attacks-blue-whale-monterey-drone-video/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=31 December 2019 | title=Killer Whales Attacked a Blue Whale—Here's the Surprising Reason Why | date=25 May 2017 | publisher=National Geographic | access-date=23 December 2019}}</ref> The first direct observations of orca predation occurred off the south coast of Western Australia, two in 2019 and one more in 2021. The first victim was estimated to be {{convert|18|–|22|m|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Totterdell, J. A.|author2=Wellard, R.|author3=Reeves, I. M.|author4=Elsdon, B.|author5=Markovic, P.|author6=Yoshida, M.|author7=Fairchild, A.|author8=Sharp, G.|author9=Pitman, R.|year=2022|title=The first three records of killer whales (''Orcinus orca'') killing and eating blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'')|journal=Marine Mammal Science|volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=1286–1301 |doi=10.1111/mms.12906|bibcode=2022MMamS..38.1286T | s2cid=246167673 }}</ref>
+There is no well-documented natural predator of blue whales. The only documented attacks on blue whales involve [[orca|orcas]]. Because killing a blue whale requires considerable effort and coordination, orcas often target calves. The rate of fatal attacks by orcas is unknown.
+Photograph-identification studies of blue whales have estimated that a number of the individuals in the [[Gulf of California]] have rake-like scars, indicative of encounters with orcas.<ref name=Sears_1990>{{cite journal | author1=Sears, R. | title=The Cortez blues | journal=Whalewatcher | volume=24 | pages=12–15 | date=1990}}</ref> Off southeastern [[Australia]], 3.7% of blue whales photographed had rake marks and 42.1% of photographed pygmy blue whales off Western Australia had rake marks.<ref name=Mehta_etal_2007>{{cite journal | author1=Mehta, A. V. | author2=Allen, J. M. | author3=Constantine, R. | author4=Garrigue, C. | author5=Jann, B. | author6=Jenner, C. | author7=Marx, M. K. | author8=Matkin, C. O. | author9=Mattila, D. K. | author10=Minton, G. | author11=Mizroch, S. A. | author12=Olavarría, C. | author13=Robbins, J. | author14=Russell, K. G. | author15=Seton, R. E. | title=Baleen whales are not important as prey for orcas (''Orcinus orca'') in high latitudes | journal=Marine Ecology Progress Series | volume=348 | pages=297–307 | date=2007| doi=10.3354/meps07015 | doi-access=free | hdl=1912/4520 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> A blue whale mother and calf were first observed being chased at high speeds by orcas off southeastern Australia.<ref name=Cotton_1944>{{cite journal | author1=Cotton, B. C. | title=Killer whales in South Australia | journal=[[Australian Zoologist]] | volume=10 | pages=293–294 | date=1944}}</ref> The first documented attack occurred in 1977 off southwestern [[Baja California, Mexico]], but the injured whale escaped after five hours.<ref name=Tarpy_1979>{{cite journal | author1=Tarpy, C. | title=Killer whale attack! | journal=National Geographic Magazine | volume=155 | pages=542–545| date=1979}}</ref> Four more blue whales were documented as being chased by a group of orcas between 1982 and 2003.<ref name=Ford_Reeves_2008>{{cite journal | author1=Ford, J. K. B. | author2=Reeves, R. | title=Fight or flight: antipredator strategies of baleen whales | journal=[[Mammal Review]] | volume=38 | issue=1 | pages=50–86 | date=2008| doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2008.00118.x | bibcode=2008MamRv..38...50F }}</ref> In September 2003, a group of orcas in the [[Eastern Tropical Pacific]] was encountered feeding on a recently killed blue whale calf.<ref name=Pitman_etal_2007>{{cite journal | author1=Pitman, R. | author2=Fearnbach, H. | author3=LeDuc, R. | author4=Gilpatrick, J. W. | author5=Ford, J. K. B. | author6=Balance, L. T. | title=Killer whales preying on a blue whale calf on the Costa Rica Dome: Genetics, morphometrics, vocalizations and composition of the group | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | volume=9 | pages=151–158 | date=2023| issue=2 | doi=10.47536/jcrm.v9i2.683 | s2cid=257138804 | doi-access=free }}</ref> In March 2014, a commercial whale watch boat operator recorded an incident involving a group of orcas harassing a blue whale in [[Monterey Bay]]. The blue whale defended itself by slapping its tail.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.livescience.com/43879-killer-whales-attack-blue-whale-video.html | title=Killer Whales Bully Lone Blue Whale in Rare Video | date=5 March 2014 | publisher=[[Live Science]] | access-date=23 December 2019}}</ref> A similar incident was recorded by a drone in Monterey Bay in May 2017.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/05/killer-whale-attacks-blue-whale-monterey-drone-video | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231040658/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/05/killer-whale-attacks-blue-whale-monterey-drone-video/ | archive-date=31 December 2019 | title=Killer Whales Attacked a Blue Whale—Here's the Surprising Reason Why | date=25 May 2017 | publisher=National Geographic | access-date=23 December 2019}}</ref> The first direct observations of orca attacks occurred off the south coast of Western Australia, two in 2019 and one more in 2021. The first victim was estimated to be an adult between {{convert|18|–|22|m|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Totterdell, J. A.|author2=Wellard, R.|author3=Reeves, I. M.|author4=Elsdon, B.|author5=Markovic, P.|author6=Yoshida, M.|author7=Fairchild, A.|author8=Sharp, G.|author9=Pitman, R.|year=2022|title=The first three records of killer whales (''Orcinus orca'') killing and eating blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'')|journal=Marine Mammal Science|volume=38 |issue=3 |pages=1286–1301 |doi=10.1111/mms.12906|bibcode=2022MMamS..38.1286T | s2cid=246167673 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358033734 }}</ref>
 ===Infestations and health threats===
-In Antarctic waters, blue whales accumulate diatoms of the species ''[[Cocconeis]] ceticola'' and the genera ''[[Navicola]]'', which are normally removed when the whales enter warmer waters. [[Barnacle]]s such as ''[[Coronula diadema]]'', ''[[Coronula reginae]]'', and ''[[Cryptolepas rhachianecti]]'', latch on to whale skin deep enough to leave behind a pit if removed. [[Whale lice]] species make their home in cracks of the skin and are relatively harmless. The [[copepod]] species ''[[Pennella balaenopterae]]'' digs in and attaches itself to the blubber to feed on. Intestinal parasites include the [[trematode]] genera ''[[Ogmogaster]]'' and ''[[Lecithodesmus]]''; the [[tapeworm]] genera ''[[Priapocephalus]]'', ''[[Phyllobotrium]]'', ''[[Tetrabothrius]]'', ''[[Diphyllobotrium]]'', and ''[[Diplogonoporus]]''; and the [[thorny-headed worm]] genus ''[[Bolbosoma]]''. In the North Atlantic, blue whales also contain the protozoans ''[[Entamoeba]]'', ''[[Giardia]]'' and ''[[Balantidium]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hermosilla|first1=C|last2=Silva|first2=L. M. R.|last3=Prieto|first3=R|last4=Kleinertz|first4=S|last5=Taubert|first5=A|last6=Silva|first6=M. A.|year=2015|title=Endo- and ectoparasites of large whales (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae): Overcoming difficulties in obtaining appropriate samples by non- and minimally-invasive methods|journal=International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife|volume=4|issue=3|pages=414–420|doi=10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.11.002|pmid=26835249|pmc=4699982|bibcode=2015IJPPW...4..414H}}</ref>
+In Antarctic waters, blue whales accumulate diatoms of the species ''[[Cocconeis]] ceticola'' and the genera ''[[Navicola]]'', which are normally removed when the whales enter warmer waters. [[Barnacle]]s such as ''[[Coronula diadema]]'', ''[[Coronula reginae]]'', and ''[[Cryptolepas rhachianecti]]'', latch on to whale skin deep enough to leave behind a pit if removed. [[Whale lice]] species make their home in cracks of the skin and are relatively harmless. The [[copepod]] species ''[[Pennella balaenopterae]]'' digs in and attaches itself to the blubber to feed on. Intestinal parasites include the [[trematode]] genera ''[[Ogmogaster]]'' and ''[[Lecithodesmus]]''; the [[tapeworm]] genera ''[[Priapocephalus]]'', ''[[Phyllobotrium]]'', ''[[Tetrabothrius]]'', ''[[Diphyllobotrium]]'', and ''[[Diplogonoporus]]''; and the [[thorny-headed worm]] genus ''[[Bolbosoma]]''. In the North Atlantic, blue whales also contain the protozoans ''[[Entamoeba]]'', ''[[Giardia]]'' and ''[[Balantidium]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hermosilla|first1=C|last2=Silva|first2=L. M. R.|last3=Prieto|first3=R|last4=Kleinertz|first4=S|last5=Taubert|first5=A|last6=Silva|first6=M. A.|year=2015|title=Endo- and ectoparasites of large whales (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae, Physeteridae): Overcoming difficulties in obtaining appropriate samples by non- and minimally-invasive methods|journal=International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife|volume=4|issue=3|pages=414–420|doi=10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.11.002|pmid=26835249|pmc=4699982|bibcode=2015IJPPW...4..414H}}</ref><ref name=Jefferson />
 ==Conservation==
-The global blue whale population is estimated to be 5,000–15,000 mature individuals and 10,000–25,000 total as of 2018. By comparison, there were at least 140,000 mature whales in 1926. There are an estimated total of 1,000–3,000 whales in the North Atlantic, 3,000–5,000 in the North Pacific, and 5,000–8,000 in the Antarctic. There are possibly 1,000–3,000 whales in the eastern South Pacific while the pygmy blue whale may number 2,000–5,000 individuals.<ref name="iucn"/> Blue whales have been protected in areas of the Southern Hemisphere since 1939. In 1955, they were given complete protection in the North Atlantic under the [[International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling]]; this protection was extended to the Antarctic in 1965 and the North Pacific in 1966.<ref name=Gambell_1979>{{cite journal | author1=Gambell, R. | title=The blue whale | journal=Biologist | volume=26 | pages=209–215 | date=1979}}</ref><ref name=Best_1993>{{cite journal | author1=Best, P. B. | title=Increase rates in severely depleted stocks of baleen whales | journal=ICES J. Mar. Sci. | volume=50 | issue=2 | pages=169–186 | date=1993| doi=10.1006/jmsc.1993.1018 | bibcode=1993ICJMS..50..169B }}</ref> The protected status of North Atlantic blue whales was not recognized by Iceland until 1960.<ref name="Sigurjónsson_1988">{{cite journal | author1=Sigurjónsson, J. | title=Operational factors of the Icelandic large whale fishery | journal=Reports of the International Whaling Commission| volume=38 | pages=327–333 | date=1988}}</ref> In the United States, the species is protected under the [[Endangered Species Act]].<ref name=NOAAblue/>
+The global blue whale population is estimated to be 5,000–15,000 mature individuals{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}} and 10,000–25,000 total as of 2015.<ref name=Jefferson/> By comparison, there were at least 140,000 mature whales in 1926. There are an estimated total of 1,000–3,000 whales in the North Atlantic, 3,000–5,000 in the North Pacific, and 5,000–8,000 in the Antarctic. There are possibly 1,000–3,000 whales in the eastern South Pacific while the pygmy blue whale may number 2,000–5,000 individuals.<ref name="iucn"/> Blue whales have been protected in areas of the Southern Hemisphere since 1939. In 1955, they were given complete protection in the North Atlantic under the [[International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling]]; this protection was extended to the Antarctic in 1965 and the North Pacific in 1966.<ref name=Gambell_1979>{{cite journal | author1=Gambell, R. | title=The blue whale | journal=Biologist | volume=26 | pages=209–215 | date=1979}}</ref><ref name=Best_1993>{{cite journal | author1=Best, P. B. | title=Increase rates in severely depleted stocks of baleen whales | journal=ICES J. Mar. Sci. | volume=50 | issue=2 | pages=169–186 | date=1993| doi=10.1006/jmsc.1993.1018 | bibcode=1993ICJMS..50..169B }}</ref> The protected status of North Atlantic blue whales was not recognized by Iceland until 1960.<ref name="Sigurjónsson_1988">{{cite journal | author1=Sigurjónsson, J. | title=Operational factors of the Icelandic large whale fishery | journal=Reports of the International Whaling Commission| volume=38 | pages=327–333 | date=1988}}</ref> In the United States, the species is protected under the [[Endangered Species Act]].<ref name=NOAAblue/>
-Blue whales are formally classified as [[Endangered species|endangered]] under both the U.S. [[Endangered Species Act]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr21.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr21.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Part 17 – Conservation of Endangered Species and Other Fish or Wildlife (First List of Endangered Foreign Fish and Wildlife as Appendix A) | date=2 June 1970 |publisher=[[U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]] |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref> and the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="iucn"/> They are also listed on Appendix&nbsp;I under the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (CITES)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php | title=Appendices | date=26 November 2019 | publisher=Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora | access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref> and the [[Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/instrument/CMS-text.en_.PDF | title=Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals | date=23 June 1979 | publisher=[[United Nations Environment Programme]] | access-date=24 December 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502225536/https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/instrument/CMS-text.en_.PDF | archive-date=2 May 2020 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Although, for some populations, there is not enough information on current abundance trends (e.g., pygmy blue whales), others are [[critically endangered]] (e.g., Antarctic blue whales).<ref name=Samaran_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Samaran, F. | author2=Stafford, K. M. | author3=Branch, T. A. | author4=Gedamke, J. | author5=Royer, Y.-J. | author6=Dziak, R. P. | author7=Guinet, C. | title=Seasonal and geographic variation of southern blue whale subspecies in the Indian Ocean | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=8 | issue=8 | page=e71561 | date=2013| bibcode=2013PLoSO...871561S | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0071561 | pmid=23967221 | pmc=3742792 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://iucn-csg.org/35-updated-cetacean-red-list-assessments-published-in-nov-2018/ | title=Blue Whale | date=6 December 2018 | publisher=International Union for Conservation | access-date= 24 December 2019}}</ref>
+Blue whales are formally classified as [[Endangered species|endangered]] under both the U.S. [[Endangered Species Act]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr21.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/federal_register/fr21.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |title=Part 17 – Conservation of Endangered Species and Other Fish or Wildlife (First List of Endangered Foreign Fish and Wildlife as Appendix A) | date=2 June 1970 |publisher=[[U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]] |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref> and the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="iucn"/> They are also listed on Appendix&nbsp;I under the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] (CITES)<ref name=CITES/> and the [[Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/instrument/CMS-text.en_.PDF | title=Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals | date=23 June 1979 | publisher=[[United Nations Environment Programme]] | access-date=24 December 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502225536/https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/instrument/CMS-text.en_.PDF | archive-date=2 May 2020 }}</ref> Although, for some populations, there is not enough information on current abundance trends (e.g., pygmy blue whales), others are [[critically endangered]] (e.g., Antarctic blue whales).<ref name=Samaran_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Samaran, F. | author2=Stafford, K. M. | author3=Branch, T. A. | author4=Gedamke, J. | author5=Royer, Y.-J. | author6=Dziak, R. P. | author7=Guinet, C. | title=Seasonal and geographic variation of southern blue whale subspecies in the Indian Ocean | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=8 | issue=8 | article-number=e71561 | date=2013| bibcode=2013PLoSO...871561S | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0071561 | pmid=23967221 | pmc=3742792 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://iucn-csg.org/35-updated-cetacean-red-list-assessments-published-in-nov-2018/ | title=Blue Whale | date=6 December 2018 | publisher=International Union for Conservation | access-date= 24 December 2019}}</ref>
 ===Threats===
@@ Line 202: / Line 209: @@
 In 2017, [[DNA]] evidence was used to identify whale bones at [[Iceland]]ic archaeological sites. Of the 124 bones analyzed more than 50% were from blue whales and some dated as far back as 900 CE. This, and other evidence, suggests that Icelanders were hunting whales as early as the 9th century, just as the [[settlement of Iceland]] began. Thus Icelanders would have been among the earliest known humans to hunt the blue whale.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Andrew |first1=Chapman |title=How Viking-Age Hunters Took Down the Biggest Animal on Earth |url=https://hakaimagazine.com/features/how-viking-age-hunters-took-down-the-biggest-animal-on-earth/ |access-date=7 May 2024 |work=Newsweek |date=28 February 2025}}</ref>
-Blue whales were initially difficult to hunt because of their size and speed.<ref name=NOAA/> This began to change in the mid-19th century with the development of harpoons that can be shot as projectiles.<ref>{{cite book |author=Darby, Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/harpoonintoheart00darb/page/38/mode/2up |title=Harpoon Into the Heart of Whaling |publisher=Hachette Books |year=2009 |isbn=9780786732005 |pages=38–39 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Blue whale whaling peaked between 1930 and 1931 with 30,000 animals taken. Harvesting of the species was particularly high in the Antarctic, with 350,000–360,000 whales taken in the first half of the 20th century. In addition, 11,000 North Atlantic whales (mostly around Iceland) and 9,500 North Pacific whales were killed during the same period.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> The International Whaling Commission banned all hunting of blue whales in 1966 and gave them worldwide protection.<ref>{{cite web|title=Blue whale – ''Balaenoptera musculus''|publisher=International Whaling Commission|access-date=25 February 2022|url=https://iwc.int/blue-whale}}</ref> However, the [[Soviet Union]] continued to illegally hunt blue whales and other species up until the 1970s.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Ivashchenko, Y.|author2=Clapham, P. J.|author3=Brownell, R.|year=2011|title=Soviet Illegal Whaling: The Devil and the Details|journal=Marine Fisheries Review|volume=73|issue=1|pages=1–19|url=https://aquadocs.org/bitstream/handle/1834/26267/mfr7331.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|access-date=26 January 2023|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322075344/https://aquadocs.org/bitstream/handle/1834/26267/mfr7331.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref>
+Blue whales were initially difficult to hunt because of their size and speed.<ref name=NOAA/> This began to change in the mid-19th century with the development of harpoons that can be shot as projectiles.<ref>{{cite book |author=Darby, Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/harpoonintoheart00darb/page/38/mode/2up |title=Harpoon Into the Heart of Whaling |publisher=Hachette Books |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7867-3200-5 |pages=38–39 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Blue whale whaling peaked between 1930 and 1931 with 30,000 animals taken. Harvesting of the species was particularly high in the Antarctic, with 350,000–360,000 whales taken in the first half of the 20th century. In addition, 11,000 North Atlantic whales (mostly around Iceland) and 9,500 North Pacific whales were killed during the same period.<ref name=Sears_Perrin_2018/> The International Whaling Commission banned all hunting of blue whales in 1966 and gave them worldwide protection.<ref>{{cite web|title=Blue whale – ''Balaenoptera musculus''|publisher=International Whaling Commission|access-date=25 February 2022|url=https://iwc.int/blue-whale}}</ref> However, the [[Soviet Union]] continued to illegally hunt blue whales and other species up until the 1970s.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Ivashchenko, Y.|author2=Clapham, P. J.|author3=Brownell, R.|year=2011|title=Soviet Illegal Whaling: The Devil and the Details|journal=Marine Fisheries Review|volume=73|issue=1|pages=1–19|url=https://aquadocs.org/bitstream/handle/1834/26267/mfr7331.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|access-date=26 January 2023|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322075344/https://aquadocs.org/bitstream/handle/1834/26267/mfr7331.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y}}</ref>
 [[File:Blue whale ship strike death.jpg|thumb|right|Researchers examine a dead blue whale killed by collision with a ship]]
-[[Environmental impact of shipping#Wildlife collisions|Ship strikes]] are a significant mortality factor for blue whales, especially off the [[U.S. West Coast]].<ref name="Berman-Kowalewski_etal_2010">{{cite journal | author1=Berman-Kowalewski, M. | author2=Gulland, F. | author3=Wilkin, S. | author4=Calambokidis, J. | author5=Mate, B. | author6=Cordaro, J. | author7=Rotstein, D. | author8=St. Leger, J. | author9=Collins, P. | author10=Fahy, K. | author11=Dover, S. | s2cid=86304413 | title=Association between blue whale mortality and ship strikes along the California coast | journal=Aquatic Mammals | volume=36 | issue=1 | pages=59–66 | date=2010| doi=10.1578/AM.36.1.2010.59 }}</ref> A total of 17 blue whales were killed or suspected to have been killed by ships between 1998 and 2019 off the U.S. West Coast.<ref name="NOAA" /> Five deaths in 2007 off California were considered an unusual mortality event, as defined under the [[Marine Mammal Protection Act]].<ref name=Berman-Kowalewski_etal_2010/><ref name=Abramson_etal_2009>{{cite report | author1=Abramson, L. | author2=Polefka, S. | author3=Hastings, S. | author4=Bor, K. | title=Reducing the Threat of Ship Strikes on Large Cetaceans in the Santa Barbara Channel Region and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary: Recommendations and Case Studies | publisher=Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council | pages=1–73 | date=2009}}</ref> Lethal ship strikes are also a problem in Sri Lankan waters, where their habitat intersects with one of the world's most active shipping routes.<ref name=deVos_etal_2016>{{cite journal | author1=de Vos, A. | author2=Brownell, R. L. Jr. | author3=Tershy, B. R. | author4=Croll, D. A. | title=Anthropogenic threats and conservation needs of blue whales, "Balaenoptera musculus indica", around Sri Lanka | journal=J. Mar. Biol. | volume=2016 | issue=8420846 | pages=1–12 | date=2016| doi=10.1155/2016/8420846 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Here, strikes caused the deaths of eleven blue whales in 2010 and 2012,<ref name=Priyadarshana_etal_2015>{{cite report | author1=Priyadarshana, T. | author2=Randage, R. | author3=Alling, A. | author4=Calderan, S. | author5=Gordon, J. | author6=Leaper, R. | author7=Porter, L. | title=An update on work related to ship strike risk to Blue whales off southern Sri Lanka | publisher=The International Whaling Commission | volume=SC66A | date=2015}}</ref> and at least two in 2014.<ref name=Randage_etal_2014>{{cite journal | author1=Randage, S. M. | author2=Alling, A. | author3=Currier, K. | author4=Heywood, E. | title=Review of the Sri Lanka blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') with observations on its distribution in the shipping lane | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | year=2023 | volume=14 | pages=43–49 | doi=10.47536/jcrm.v14i1.522 | s2cid=46399716 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Ship-strike mortality claimed the lives of two blue whales off southern Chile in the 2010s.<ref name=Brownell_etal_2014>{{cite report | author1=Brownell, R. L. Jr. | author2=Cabrera, E. | author3=Galletti-Vernazzani, B. | title=Dead blue whale in Puerto Montt, Chile: Another case of ship collision mortality | publisher=International Whaling Commission | volume=SC/65b/HIM08 | date=2014}}</ref><ref name=IWC_2017>{{cite report | author1=International whaling Commission | title=Report of the Scientific Committee | publisher=International Whaling Commission | page=136 | date=2017}}</ref> Possible measures for reducing future ship strikes include better predictive models of whale distribution, changes in shipping lanes, vessel speed reductions, and seasonal and dynamic management of shipping lanes.<ref name=Redfern_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Redfern, J. V. | author2=McKenna, M. F. | author3=Moore, T. J. | author4=Calambokidis, J. | author5=Deangelis, M. L. | author6=Becker, E. A. | author7=Barlow, J. | author8=Forney, K. A. | author9=Fiedler, P. C. | author10=Chivers, S. J. | title=Assessing the risk of ships striking large whales in marine spatial planning | journal=[[Conservation Biology (journal)|Conservation Biology]] | volume=22 | issue=2 | pages=292–302 | date=2013| doi=10.1111/cobi.12029 | pmid=23521668 | bibcode=2013ConBi..27..292R | s2cid=17833403 }}</ref><ref name=Dransfield_etal_2014>{{cite journal | author1=Dransfield, A. | author2=Hines, E. | author3=McGowan, J. | author4=Holzman, B. | author5=Nur, N. | author6=Elliott, M. | author7=Howar, J. | author8=Jacncke, J. | title=Where the whales are: using habitat modeling to support changes in shipping regulations within National Marine Sanctuaries in Central California | journal=Endanger Species Res | volume=26 | issue=1 | pages=39–57 | date=2014| doi=10.3354/esr00627 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Few cases of blue whale entanglement in commercial fishing gear have been documented. The first report in the U.S. occurred off California in 2015, reportedly some type of deep-water trap/pot fishery.<ref name=Carretta_etal_2017>{{cite report | author1=Carretta, J. V. | author2=Muto, M. M. | author3=Greenman, J. | author4=Wilkinson, K. | author5=Viezbicke, J. | author6=Jannot, J. | title=Sources of human-related injury and mortality for U.S. Pacific west coast marine mammal stock assessments, 2011– 2015 | publisher=NOAA | volume=PSRG-2017-07 | date=2017}}</ref> Three more entanglement cases were reported in 2016.<ref name=NMFS_2017>{{cite report | author1=NMFS | title=National Report on Large Whale Entanglements | publisher=NOAA | url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/national-report-large-whale-entanglements-2017 | date=2017}}</ref> In Sri Lanka, a blue whale was documented with a net wrapped through its mouth, along the sides of its body, and wound around its tail.<ref name=deVos_2015>{{cite book | author1=de Vos, A. | title=Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement | chapter=Marine life on the line | editor1-last=Braun | editor1-first=D. | publisher=National Geographic | page=685 | chapter-url=http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan | date=2015}}</ref>
+[[Environmental impact of shipping#Wildlife collisions|Ship strikes]] are a significant mortality factor for blue whales, especially off the [[U.S. West Coast]].<ref name="Berman-Kowalewski_etal_2010">{{cite journal | author1=Berman-Kowalewski, M. | author2=Gulland, F. | author3=Wilkin, S. | author4=Calambokidis, J. | author5=Mate, B. | author6=Cordaro, J. | author7=Rotstein, D. | author8=St. Leger, J. | author9=Collins, P. | author10=Fahy, K. | author11=Dover, S. | s2cid=86304413 | title=Association between blue whale mortality and ship strikes along the California coast | journal=Aquatic Mammals | volume=36 | issue=1 | pages=59–66 | date=2010| doi=10.1578/AM.36.1.2010.59 }}</ref> A total of 17 blue whales were killed or suspected to have been killed by ships between 1998 and 2019 off the U.S. West Coast.<ref name="NOAA" /> Five deaths in 2007 off California were considered an unusual mortality event, as defined under the [[Marine Mammal Protection Act]].<ref name=Berman-Kowalewski_etal_2010/><ref name=Abramson_etal_2009>{{cite report | author1=Abramson, L. | author2=Polefka, S. | author3=Hastings, S. | author4=Bor, K. | title=Reducing the Threat of Ship Strikes on Large Cetaceans in the Santa Barbara Channel Region and Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary: Recommendations and Case Studies | publisher=Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council | pages=1–73 | date=2009}}</ref> Lethal ship strikes are also a problem in Sri Lankan waters, where their habitat intersects with one of the world's most active shipping routes.<ref name=deVos_etal_2016>{{cite journal | author1=de Vos, A. | author2=Brownell, R. L. Jr. | author3=Tershy, B. R. | author4=Croll, D. A. | title=Anthropogenic threats and conservation needs of blue whales, "Balaenoptera musculus indica", around Sri Lanka | journal=J. Mar. Biol. | volume=2016 | issue=8420846 | pages=1–12 | date=2016| doi=10.1155/2016/8420846 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Here, strikes caused the deaths of eleven blue whales in 2010 and 2012,<ref name=Priyadarshana_etal_2015>{{cite report | author1=Priyadarshana, T. | author2=Randage, R. | author3=Alling, A. | author4=Calderan, S. | author5=Gordon, J. | author6=Leaper, R. | author7=Porter, L. | title=An update on work related to ship strike risk to Blue whales off southern Sri Lanka | publisher=The International Whaling Commission | volume=SC66A | date=2015}}</ref> and at least two in 2014.<ref name=Randage_etal_2014>{{cite journal | author1=Randage, S. M. | author2=Alling, A. | author3=Currier, K. | author4=Heywood, E. | title=Review of the Sri Lanka blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') with observations on its distribution in the shipping lane | journal=Journal of Cetacean Research and Management | year=2023 | volume=14 | pages=43–49 | doi=10.47536/jcrm.v14i1.522 | s2cid=46399716 | doi-access=free }}</ref> Ship-strike mortality claimed the lives of two blue whales off southern Chile in the 2010s.<ref name=Brownell_etal_2014>{{cite report | author1=Brownell, R. L. Jr. | author2=Cabrera, E. | author3=Galletti-Vernazzani, B. | title=Dead blue whale in Puerto Montt, Chile: Another case of ship collision mortality | publisher=International Whaling Commission | volume=SC/65b/HIM08 | date=2014}}</ref><ref name=IWC_2017>{{cite report | author1=International whaling Commission | title=Report of the Scientific Committee | publisher=International Whaling Commission | page=136 | date=2017}}</ref> Possible measures for reducing future ship strikes include better predictive models of whale distribution, changes in shipping lanes, vessel speed reductions, and seasonal and dynamic management of shipping lanes.<ref name=Redfern_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Redfern, J. V. | author2=McKenna, M. F. | author3=Moore, T. J. | author4=Calambokidis, J. | author5=Deangelis, M. L. | author6=Becker, E. A. | author7=Barlow, J. | author8=Forney, K. A. | author9=Fiedler, P. C. | author10=Chivers, S. J. | title=Assessing the risk of ships striking large whales in marine spatial planning | journal=[[Conservation Biology (journal)|Conservation Biology]] | volume=22 | issue=2 | pages=292–302 | date=2013| doi=10.1111/cobi.12029 | pmid=23521668 | bibcode=2013ConBi..27..292R | s2cid=17833403 }}</ref><ref name=Dransfield_etal_2014>{{cite journal | author1=Dransfield, A. | author2=Hines, E. | author3=McGowan, J. | author4=Holzman, B. | author5=Nur, N. | author6=Elliott, M. | author7=Howar, J. | author8=Jacncke, J. | title=Where the whales are: using habitat modeling to support changes in shipping regulations within National Marine Sanctuaries in Central California | journal=Endanger Species Res | volume=26 | issue=1 | pages=39–57 | date=2014| doi=10.3354/esr00627 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2014ESRes..26...39D }}</ref> Few cases of blue whale entanglement in commercial fishing gear have been documented. The first report in the U.S. occurred off California in 2015, reportedly some type of deep-water trap/pot fishery.<ref name=Carretta_etal_2017>{{cite report | author1=Carretta, J. V. | author2=Muto, M. M. | author3=Greenman, J. | author4=Wilkinson, K. | author5=Viezbicke, J. | author6=Jannot, J. | title=Sources of human-related injury and mortality for U.S. Pacific west coast marine mammal stock assessments, 2011– 2015 | publisher=NOAA | volume=PSRG-2017-07 | date=2017}}</ref> Three more entanglement cases were reported in 2016.<ref name=NMFS_2017>{{cite report | author1=NMFS | title=National Report on Large Whale Entanglements | publisher=NOAA | url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/national-report-large-whale-entanglements-2017 | date=2017}}</ref> In Sri Lanka, a blue whale was documented with a net wrapped through its mouth, along the sides of its body, and wound around its tail.<ref name=deVos_2015>{{cite book | author1=de Vos, A. | title=Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement | chapter=Marine life on the line | editor1-last=Braun | editor1-first=D. | publisher=National Geographic | page=685 | chapter-url=http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/restoration-planning/gulf-plan | date=2015}}</ref>
-Increasing [[Anthropogenic hazard|man-made]] underwater noise impacts blue whales.<ref name=Southall_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Southall, B. L. | author2=Hatch, L. | author3=Scholik-Schlomer, A. | author4=Bergmann, T. | author5=Jasny, M. | author6=Metcalf, K. | author7=Weilgart, L. | author8=Wright, A. J. | author9=Perera, M. E. | title=Reducing noise from large commercial ships: progress and partnerships | journal=Proc. Mar. Saf. Sec. Council | volume=1 | pages=58–65 | date=2018}}</ref><ref name=Wiggins_etal_2001>{{cite journal | author1=Wiggins, S. M. | author2=Oleson, E. M. | author3=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Blue whale call intensity varies with ambient noise level | journal=[[Journal of the Acoustical Society of America]] | volume=110 | issue=5 | page=2771 | date=2001| bibcode=2001ASAJ..110.2771W | doi=10.1121/1.4777708 }}</ref> They may be exposed to noise from commercial shipping<ref name=McKenna_etal_2012>{{cite journal | author1=McKenna, M. F. | author2=Ross, D. | author3=Wiggins, S. M. | author4=Hildebrand, J. A. | s2cid=9474116 | title=Underwater radiated noise from modern commercial ships | journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=131 | issue=1 | pages=92–103 | date=2012| doi=10.1121/1.3664100 | pmid=22280574 | bibcode=2012ASAJ..131...92M }}</ref><ref name=Szesciorka_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Szesciorka, A. R. | author2=Allen, A. N. | author3=Calambokidis, J. | author4=Fahlbusch, J. | author5=McKenna, M. F. | author6=Southall, B. L. | title=A case study of a near vessel strike of a blue whale: perceptual cues and fine-scale aspects of behavioral avoidance | journal=Front. Mar. Sci. | volume=6 | issue=761 | pages=1–10 | date=2019| doi=10.3389/fmars.2019.00761 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2019FrMaS...6..761S }}</ref> and seismic surveys as a part of oil and gas exploration.<ref name=DiIorio_Ckark_2009>{{cite journal | author1=Di Iorio, L. | author2=Clark, C. W. | title=Exposure to seismic survey alters blue whale acoustic communication | journal=Biology Letters | volume=6 | issue=1 | pages=1–4 | date=2009}}</ref><ref name=McDonald_etal_1995>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Hildebrand, J. A. | author3=Webb, S. C. | s2cid=3829165 | title=Blue and fin whales observed on a seafloor array in the Northeast Pacific | journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=98 | issue=2 | pages=712–721 | date=1995| doi=10.1121/1.413565 | pmid=7642810 | bibcode=1995ASAJ...98..712M | url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2sx2b1cj }}</ref> Blue whales in the [[Southern California Bight]] decreased calling in the presence of mid-frequency active (MFA) [[sonar]].<ref name="Melcón_etal_2012">{{cite journal | author1=Melcón, M. L. | author2=Cummins, A. J. | author3=Kerosky, S. M. | author4=Roche, L. K. | author5=Wiggins, S. M. | author6=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Blue Whales Respond to Anthropogenic Noise | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=7 | issue=2 | page=e32681 | date=2012| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0032681 | pmid=22393434 | pmc=3290562 | bibcode=2012PLoSO...732681M | doi-access=free }}</ref> Exposure to simulated MFA sonar was found to interrupt blue whale deep-dive feeding, but no changes in behavior were observed in individuals feeding at shallower depths. The responses also depended on the animal's behavioral state, its (horizontal) distance from the sound source and the availability of prey.<ref name=Southall_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Southall, B. L. | author2=DeRuiter, S. L. | author3=Friedlaender, A. | author4=Stimpert, A. K. | author5=Goldbogen, J. A. | author6=Hazen, E. | author7=Casey, C. | author8=Fregosi, S. | author9=Cade, D. E. | author10=Allen, A. N. | author11=Harris, C. M. | author12=Schorr, G. | author13=Moretti, D. | title=Behavioral responses of individual blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'') to mid-frequency military sonar | journal=[[The Journal of Experimental Biology]]| volume=222 | issue=jeb190637 | pages=jeb190637 | date=2019| doi=10.1242/jeb.190637 | pmid=30833464 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2019JExpB.222B0637S | hdl=10023/19592 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>
+Increasing [[Anthropogenic hazard|man-made]] underwater noise impacts blue whales.<ref name=Southall_etal_2018>{{cite journal | author1=Southall, B. L. | author2=Hatch, L. | author3=Scholik-Schlomer, A. | author4=Bergmann, T. | author5=Jasny, M. | author6=Metcalf, K. | author7=Weilgart, L. | author8=Wright, A. J. | author9=Perera, M. E. | title=Reducing noise from large commercial ships: progress and partnerships | journal=Proc. Mar. Saf. Sec. Council | volume=1 | pages=58–65 | date=2018}}</ref><ref name=Wiggins_etal_2001>{{cite journal | author1=Wiggins, S. M. | author2=Oleson, E. M. | author3=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Blue whale call intensity varies with ambient noise level | journal=[[Journal of the Acoustical Society of America]] | volume=110 | issue=5 | page=2771 | date=2001| bibcode=2001ASAJ..110.2771W | doi=10.1121/1.4777708 }}</ref> They may be exposed to noise from commercial shipping<ref name=McKenna_etal_2012>{{cite journal | author1=McKenna, M. F. | author2=Ross, D. | author3=Wiggins, S. M. | author4=Hildebrand, J. A. | s2cid=9474116 | title=Underwater radiated noise from modern commercial ships | journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=131 | issue=1 | pages=92–103 | date=2012| doi=10.1121/1.3664100 | pmid=22280574 | bibcode=2012ASAJ..131...92M }}</ref><ref name=Szesciorka_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Szesciorka, A. R. | author2=Allen, A. N. | author3=Calambokidis, J. | author4=Fahlbusch, J. | author5=McKenna, M. F. | author6=Southall, B. L. | title=A case study of a near vessel strike of a blue whale: perceptual cues and fine-scale aspects of behavioral avoidance | journal=Front. Mar. Sci. | volume=6 | issue=761 | pages=1–10 | date=2019| article-number=761 | doi=10.3389/fmars.2019.00761 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2019FrMaS...6..761S }}</ref> and seismic surveys as a part of oil and gas exploration.<ref name=DiIorio_Ckark_2009>{{cite journal | author1=Di Iorio, L. | author2=Clark, C. W. | title=Exposure to seismic survey alters blue whale acoustic communication | journal=Biology Letters | volume=6 | issue=1 | pages=1–4 | date=2009}}</ref><ref name=McDonald_etal_1995>{{cite journal | author1=McDonald, M. A. | author2=Hildebrand, J. A. | author3=Webb, S. C. | s2cid=3829165 | title=Blue and fin whales observed on a seafloor array in the Northeast Pacific | journal=Journal of the Acoustical Society of America | volume=98 | issue=2 | pages=712–721 | date=1995| doi=10.1121/1.413565 | pmid=7642810 | bibcode=1995ASAJ...98..712M | url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/2sx2b1cj }}</ref> Blue whales in the [[Southern California Bight]] decreased calling in the presence of mid-frequency active (MFA) [[sonar]].<ref name="Melcón_etal_2012">{{cite journal | author1=Melcón, M. L. | author2=Cummins, A. J. | author3=Kerosky, S. M. | author4=Roche, L. K. | author5=Wiggins, S. M. | author6=Hildebrand, J. A. | title=Blue Whales Respond to Anthropogenic Noise | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=7 | issue=2 | article-number=e32681 | date=2012| doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0032681 | pmid=22393434 | pmc=3290562 | bibcode=2012PLoSO...732681M | doi-access=free }}</ref> Exposure to simulated MFA sonar was found to interrupt blue whale deep-dive feeding, but no changes in behavior were observed in individuals feeding at shallower depths. The responses also depended on the animal's behavioral state, its (horizontal) distance from the sound source and the availability of prey.<ref name=Southall_etal_2019>{{cite journal | author1=Southall, B. L. | author2=DeRuiter, S. L. | author3=Friedlaender, A. | author4=Stimpert, A. K. | author5=Goldbogen, J. A. | author6=Hazen, E. | author7=Casey, C. | author8=Fregosi, S. | author9=Cade, D. E. | author10=Allen, A. N. | author11=Harris, C. M. | author12=Schorr, G. | author13=Moretti, D. | title=Behavioral responses of individual blue whales (''Balaenoptera musculus'') to mid-frequency military sonar | journal=[[The Journal of Experimental Biology]]| volume=222 | issue=jeb190637 | pages=jeb190637 | date=2019| doi=10.1242/jeb.190637 | pmid=30833464 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2019JExpB.222B0637S | hdl=10023/19592 | hdl-access=free }}</ref>
 The potential impacts of [[pollutants]] on blue whales is unknown. However, because blue whales feed low on the [[food chain]], there is a lesser chance for [[bioaccumulation]] of organic chemical contaminants.<ref name=OShea_Brownell_1994>{{cite journal | author1=O'Shea, T. J. | author2=Brownell, R. L. | title=Organochlorine and metal contaminants in baleen whales:a review and evaluation of conservation implications | journal=[[Science of the Total Environment]]| volume=154 | issue=2–3 | pages=179–200 | date=1994| doi=10.1016/0048-9697(94)90087-6 | pmid=7973606 | bibcode=1994ScTEn.154..179O }}</ref> Analysis of the earwax of a male blue whale killed by a collision with a ship off the coast of California showed contaminants like pesticides, flame retardants, and mercury. Reconstructed [[persistent organic pollutant]] (POP) profiles suggested that a substantial [[Maternal transfer in aquatic mammals|maternal transfer]] occurred during gestation and/or lactation.<ref name=Trumble_etal_2013>{{cite journal | author1=Trumble, S. J. | author2=Robinson, E. M. | author3=Berman-Kowalewski, M. | author4=Potter, C. W. | author5=Usenko, S. | title=Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles | journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences | volume=110 | issue=42 | pages=16922–16926 | date=2013| doi=10.1073/pnas.1311418110 | bibcode=2013PNAS..11016922T | doi-access=free | pmid=24043814 | pmc=3801066 }}</ref> Male blue whales in the [[Gulf of St. Lawrence]], Canada, were found to have higher concentrations of PCBs, [[dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane]] (DDT), [[metabolites]], and several other organochlorine compounds relative to females, reflecting maternal transfer of these persistent contaminants from females into young.<ref name=Metcalfe_etal_2004>{{cite journal | author1=Metcalfe, C. D. | author2=Koenig, B. G. | author3=Metcalfe, T. L. | author4=Paterson, G. | author5=Sears, R. | title=Intra- and inter-species differences in persistent organic contaminants in the blubber of blue whales and humpback whales from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada | journal=Marine Environmental Research| volume=57 | issue=4 | pages=245–260 | date=2004| doi=10.1016/j.marenvres.2003.08.003 | pmid=14749058 | bibcode=2004MarER..57..245M }}</ref>
@@ Line 264: / Line 271: @@
 [[Category:Biological records]]
 [[Category:ESA endangered species]]
-[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
+[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
+[[Category:Species that are or were threatened by collisions with vehicles]]

Blue whale: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:36, 16 May 2026

Contents

Taxonomy

Nomenclature

Evolution

Hybridization

Subspecies and stocks

Description

Size

Life span

Behavior and ecology

Diet and feeding

Reproduction and birth

Vocalizations

Predators

Infestations and health threats

Conservation

Threats

See also

Note

References

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

Blue whale Temporal range: Early Pleistocene – Recent 1.5–0 Ma^[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
File:Anim1754 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library.jpg
Adult blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus)
File:Blue whale size.svg
Size compared to an average human
Conservation status
File:Status iucn3.1 EN.svg Endangered (IUCN 3.1)^[2]
File:Status TNC G3.svg Vulnerable (NatureServe)^[3]
Scientific classification edit
Missing taxonomy template (fix):	Balaenoptera
Species:	Template:Taxonomy/BalaenopteraB. musculus
Binomial name
Template:Taxonomy/BalaenopteraBalaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
B. m. brevicauda Ichihara, 1966 ?B. m. indica Blyth, 1859 B. m. intermedia Burmeister, 1871 B. m. musculus Linnaeus, 1758
File:Cypron-Range Balaenoptera musculus.svg
Blue whale range (in blue)
Synonyms
Balaena musculus Linnaeus, 1758 Balaenoptera gibbar Scoresby 1820 Pterobalaena gigas Van Beneden 1861 Physalus latirostris Flower 1864 Sibbaldius borealis Gray 1866 Flowerius gigas Lilljeborg 1867 Sibbaldius sulfureus Cope 1869 Balaenoptera sibbaldii Sars 1875

Blue whale: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 11:36, 16 May 2026

Taxonomy

Nomenclature

Evolution

Hybridization

Subspecies and stocks

Description

Size

Life span

Behavior and ecology

Diet and feeding

Reproduction and birth

Vocalizations

Predators

Infestations and health threats

Conservation

Threats

See also

Note

References

Further reading

External links

Navigation menu

Search