Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrata > Superclass Gnathostomata > Superclass Tetrapoda > Class Mammalia > Subclass Theria > Order Cetartiodactyla > Suborder Cetancodonta > Infraorder Cetacea > Superfamily Mysticeti > Family Balaenopteridae > Genus Balaenoptera

Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Balaenoptera*	Lacépède, 1804	accepted genus name

Children

Balaenoptera musculus musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Afrikaans: blouwalvis

Aleutian: abugulikh; omgolia

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

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

Catalan: balena blava

Chukchi (Louravetlany): akhvorkhrikh; tnmerken-uiiut

Chukot: akhvorkhrikh; tnmerken-uiiut

Czech: plejtvák obrovský

Danish: blåhval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Dutch: blauwe vinvis; blauwe vinvisch sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

English-United States: Blue Whale sources: Charles Hussey

French: baleine bleue; baleine d'Ostend; baleine jubarte; rorqual bleu; rorqual de Sibbald sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

German: Blauwal; Riesenwal; Schanelwal; Schwefelbauchwal sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

Greenlandic: tunnolik

Icelandic: hafreydur; hrefna; steypireydr

Indonesian: laylan agi; paus biru

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

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

Japanese: siro nagasu kujira

Korean: daewang-gorae

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

Malagasi: trozona manga

Norwegian: blaahval; blåhval; heipe-reydur; rörqual sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Bokmål: blåhval sources: Systema Naturae, 10th ed., 1:76

Norwegian Nynorsk: blåkval sources: Systema Naturae, 10th ed., 1:76

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

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

Portuguese: baleia azul

Russian: blyuval; bolshoi polosatik; goluboi kit; sinii kit; кит синий sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Slovenian: sinji kit sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

Swedish: blaval; jattenhval; muskel finnfisk

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

Ukrainian: Кит синій; Синій кит; Смугастик Брайда sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

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

Yupik: takerrkak; takyshkok

Literature

original description	Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentius Salvius: Holmiae. ii, 824 pp.
basis of record	van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376
additional source	University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web.
additional source	ITIS database
additional source	Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam.
additional source	IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
additional source	Perrin, W. F., B. Würsig and J. G. M. Thewissen. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press, Amsterdam.
additional source	Carwardine, M., E. Hoyt, R. E. Fordyce and P. Gill. 1998. Whales, dolphins and porpoises. Time-Life Books. Nature Company Guides, USA. 288 p.
additional source	Mead, J. G. and R. L. Brownell, Jr. (2005). Cetacea. Pages 723--743 in Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp.
additional source	Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4.
additional source	Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of living whales. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 246:1--259.
additional source	King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554.

Genbank

Taxonomy

WoRMS

External Links

Barcode of Life (2 barcodes)
Biodiversity Heritage Library (294 publications)
Marine Life Information Network - UK
GBIF

Citation

Perrin, W. (2014). Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Perrin, W.F. (2014) World Cetacea Database. In: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2014) European Register of Marine Species, accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137090