The Blue Whale

Hey guys today we are going to meet the biggest mammal of our planet The Blue Whale.

COMMON NAME: Blue Whale
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Cetacea
SUBORDER: Mysticeti
FAMILY: Balaenopteridae
GENUS SPECIES: Balaenoptera musculus

The blue whale has different sub-species depending on the location:

Sub-Species : Location
Balaenoptera musculus : North Atlantic, North Pacific
Balaenoptera musculus Intermedia : Southern Ocean
Balaenoptera musculus Brevicauda (Pygmy Blue Whale) : Indian Ocean, South Pacific Ocean
Balaenoptera musculus Indica : Indian Ocean

Sub-Species : First Found At (year)
Balaenoptera musculus : Linnaeus(1758)
Balaenoptera musculus Intermedia : Burmeister(1871)
Balaenoptera musculus Brevicauda (Pygmy Blue Whale) : Ichihara(1966)
Balaenoptera musculus Indica : Blyth(1859)

Mass: 190,000 kg
Body Length: 26-33 m
Diet: small crustaceans, Krills
Breeding Season: during winter months
Age at Sexual Maturity: 5 years
Number of Offspring: 1
Average Lifespan: 85 years

Blue Whale also known as Balaenoptera musculus and sulphur-bottom is a marine mammal belonging to the sub-order of Baleen Whales (Mysticeti). It is believed to be the largest animal ever to have existed. it is up to 108 feet in length and 170 metric tonnes or more in weight. It is the largest whale and the largest living animal.

The blue whales body can be of various shades of bluish-grey dorsally and lighter shades underneath.

For almost 40 years they were hunted almost to extinction until protected by the international community in 1966. It was estimated that there were 5000 to 12000 blue whales remaining in at least five groups but a recent research in to the pygmy sub-species suggests this may be an underestimate.

I do not know about you but while doing the required reserch and development for this post I myself developed a respect for these mamals.