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Fin Whale

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Fin whales reach the Gulf of St. Lawrence on their northern migration in March and they are common off Newfoundland and Labrador in June, usually appearing about 40 km (25 mi.) off shore.

 


Fin Whale
: Family Balaenopteridae : Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus)
Description.

Fin whale - BALAENOPTERA PHYSALUS
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
Subclass: True Mammals (Eutheria)
Order: Whale-like Mammals (Cetacea)
Family: Balaenopteridae.

Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
The Fin Whale.
The Fin Whale is found in oceans all over the world, from the tropics to the polar areas. They are known as a pelagic species, often occuring in shallow waters close to the shore.

Fin Whale
Introducing the second-largest living animal
Common Name: Fin whale, common rorqual, fin-basked whale, finner, herring whale, razorback; Baleine à nageoires, baleinoptère commune, rorqual commun (Fr); Ballena aleta, ballena boba, ...

Minke Whale
Smaller than either the Humpback or the Fin Whale, the Minke Whales rarely spends much time on the surface. Notice the sickle shaped dorsal fin. Sometimes breaches.

Fin whales are variably gregarious. The usual pod size is 6 or 7 individuals, but groups as large as 300 have been observed migrating together. Fin whales are migratory.

Fin whales are most common in the Southern Hemisphere while smaller populations inhabit the North Atlantic and North Pacific.

Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
The fin whale is classified as a member of the order Cetacea (Whales) and is a member of the family Balaenopteridae. It grows up to eighty feet long.

Fin Whale
(Balaenoptera physalus)
4 images
The Fin Whale is a streamlined rorqual with similar body shape to the Blue Whale. It is the second largest rorqual after the Blue Whale. The body is brownish grey above and white below.

FIN WHALE
The fin whale is a very large baleen whale. It is the second largest animal in the world.
FLYING SQUIRREL
Flying squirrels glide from trees, using a loose flap of skin between their legs and arms.

Fin whale, common rorqual
Fin whales are the second largest animal in the world - only blue whales are larger.
Finless porpoise, finless black porpoise
These are the only porpoises to have a bulbous melon on their heads.

The largest recorded fin whale was a female about 27 m long, weighing more than 100 tons. Fin whales are sleek, fast swimmers.

Most large whales travel in small schools, or pods, but some, like the fin whale, swim alone or in pairs; small cetaceans form schools of up to several thousand individuals.

This includes Right Whales, Blue Whales, Fin Whales, Humpback Whales, Gray Whales and others. The baleen is used to strain tiny crustaceans (shrimps) and other plankton from the water.

The Finback (also called Finner and Fin Whale) is exceeded in size only by its cousin, the Blue Whale; both are baleen, or toothless, whales. Finbacks can reach a length of 80 feet and weigh as much as 80 tons.

Blue Whale Beagle Bobcat Cougar Domestic sheep Elk Fin Whale Giant Otter Guinea pig Hippopotamus Homo floresiensis Humpback Whale Island Fox Jaguar Javan Rhinoceros Knut (polar bear) Lion List of lemur species Lundomys Orca Platypus Primate Pygmy ...

Pods of orcas will even prey upon larger whales such as Fin Whales, Minke Whales, Grey Whales, or even young Blue Whales. A group of orcas can take a young Blue Whale by chasing it and its mother through the sea, wearing them out.

Blue, right, humpback, minke, gray, and fin whales are well-known examples of baleen whales.

Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus)
Fringed Myotis (Myotis thysanodes)
Gervais' Beaked Whale (Mesoplodon europaeus)
Ghost-faced Bat (Mormoops megalophylla)
Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)
Hairy-legged Vampire Bat (Diphylla ecaudata) ...

See also: Whale, Dolphin, Blue Whale, Humpback, Minke Whale