Biography of blue whale

Baleen whale, largest animal ever known

For other uses, see Blue whale (disambiguation).

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal and a baleen whale.

Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 m (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 t (196 long tons; 219 short tons), it is the largest animal known ever to have existed.^[a] 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.

Biography of blue whale

Biography of blue whale for kids

Fin whale

Blue whale size

How many blue whales are left

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.

Biography of blue whale for kids

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 ground