Balaenoptera physalus
Dublin Core
Title
Balaenoptera physalus
Subject
Taxonomy
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Cetacea
Family : Balaenopteridae
Genus : Balaenoptera
Species : Balaenoptera physalus
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Cetacea
Family : Balaenopteridae
Genus : Balaenoptera
Species : Balaenoptera physalus
Common Name
- Common Rorqual (English)
- Fin Whale (English)
- Fin-backed Whale (English)
- Finback (English)
- Finner (English)
- Herring Whale, Razorback (English)
Description
Ecosystem role
Fin whales have little pressure exerted on them by predatory animals and thus their main contribution to the general ecosystem is to consume large amounts of plankton. Their carcasses also support communities of benthic animals as they fall to the ocean floor and are consumed.
Fin whales have little pressure exerted on them by predatory animals and thus their main contribution to the general ecosystem is to consume large amounts of plankton. Their carcasses also support communities of benthic animals as they fall to the ocean floor and are consumed.
Economic importance
Historically, fin whales were hunted extensively for their oil and blubber, as well as their baleen. Aboriginal peoples have hunted fin whales for centuries and all parts of the whale were integral in their lives as a source of food, fuel, and building materials. Large-scale hunting efforts peaked in the 1950’s, as nearly 10,000 whales were killed every year.
Historically, fin whales were hunted extensively for their oil and blubber, as well as their baleen. Aboriginal peoples have hunted fin whales for centuries and all parts of the whale were integral in their lives as a source of food, fuel, and building materials. Large-scale hunting efforts peaked in the 1950’s, as nearly 10,000 whales were killed every year.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Vulnerable
Vulnerable
Creator
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Source
Publisher
Intan Rabitah Mustafa
Contributor
Intan Rabitah Mustafa
Language
English
Collection
Citation
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758), “Balaenoptera physalus,” BIDARA, accessed July 16, 2025, https://bidara.uthm.edu.my/items/show/21.