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Information about Balaenopteridae

Rorquals
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Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback Whale, Megaptera novaeangliae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Cetacea
Suborder:Mysticeti
Family:Balaenopteridae
Gray, 1864
Genera


Balaenoptera
Megaptera


Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with nine species in two genera. They include the largest animal that has ever lived, the Blue Whale, which can reach 150 tonnes, and two others that easily pass 50 tonnes; even the smallest of the group, the Northern Minke Whale, reaches 9 tonnes.

Rorquals take their name from the Norwegian word röyrkval, meaning "furrow whale".[1] All members of the family have a series of longitudinal folds of skin running from below the mouth back to the navel (except the Sei Whale, which has shorter grooves). These are understood to allow the mouth to expand immensely when feeding. The "Minke" is allegedly named after a Norwegian whaler named Meincke, who mistook a Northern Minke Whale for a Blue Whale.[2] [3]

Distribution is worldwide: the Blue, Fin, Humpback, Sei, and Minke Whales are found in all major oceans; and one or other of the two species of Bryde's Whale occurs in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans, being absent only from the cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic.

Most rorquals are fairly strictly oceanic: the exceptions are Bryde's Whales (which are usually found close to shore all year round) and Humpback Whales (which are oceanic but pass close to shore when migrating). It is the largest and the smallest types - Blue and Minke Whales - that occupy the coldest waters in the extreme south; Fin Whales tend not to approach so close to the ice shelf; Sei Whales tend to stay further north again. (In the northern hemisphere, where the continents distort weather patterns and ocean currents, these movements are less obvious, although still present.) Within each species, the largest individuals tend to approach the poles more closely, while the youngest and fittest ones tend to stay in warmer waters before leaving on their annual migration.

Most rorquals breed in temperate waters during the winter, then migrate back to the polar feeding grounds rich in plankton and krill for the short polar summer.

Taxonomy

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The rorquals' phylogenetic tree ascertained from DNA sequencing:The cuteness of this article needs .
Taxonomically the Balaenopteridae (rorqual) family is split into two sub-families - Balaenopterinae and Megapterinae. Each sub-family contains one genus - Balaenoptera and Megaptera respectively. However, the phylogeny of the various rorqual species shows the current division is paraphyletic, and may need to be adjusted.

The discovery of an eighth member of the Balaenopteridae family was announced in November 2003 - specimens of the Balaenoptera omurai, which looks similar to, if smaller than, the Fin Whale were found in Indo-Pacific waters.
  • Sub-family Megapterinae

    • References

    1. ^ Etymology of mammal names. IberiaNature - Natural history facts and trivia. Retrieved on 2006-12-07.
    2. ^ Dictionary.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
    3. ^ Lazarus, Sarah (2006). Troubled Waters: The Changing Fortunes of Whales and Dolphins. CSIRO Publishing. Retrieved on 2007-08-30. 


     •  • [ e]
    Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises)
    Suborder Mysticeti
    (baleen whales)
    Eschrichtiidae (gray whales) Balaenopteridae (rorquals) Balaenidae (right whales) Neobalaenidae (pygmy right whales)
    Suborder Odontoceti
    (toothed whales)
    Platanistoidea (river dolphins) Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins) Phocoenidae (porpoises) Monodontidae (beluga and narwhal) Physeteridae (sperm whales) Kogiidae (pygmy and dwarf sperm whales) Ziphiidae (beaked whales)




    External Links

    Megaptera
    Gray, 1846

    Species: M. novaeangliae

    Binomial name
    Megaptera novaeangliae
    Borowski, 1781


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    Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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    Chordata
    Bateson, 1885

    Typical Classes

    See below

    Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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    Mammalia
    Linnaeus, 1758

    Subclasses & Infraclasses
    • Subclass †Allotheria*
    • Subclass Prototheria
    • Subclass Theria

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    Cetacea
    Brisson, 1762

    Diversity
    Around 88 species; see list of cetaceans or below.

    Suborders

    Mysticeti
    Odontoceti
    Archaeoceti (extinct)
    (see text for families)

    The order Cetacea
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    Mysticeti
    Cope, 1891

    Diversity
    Around 15 species; see list of cetaceans or below.

    Families

    Balaenidae
    Balaenopteridae
    Eschrichtiidae
    Neobalaenidae
    The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales
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    John Edward Gray

    Born January 12 1800(1800--)
    Walsall, England
    Died March 07 1875 (aged 75)

    Nationality British
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    genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
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    Balaenoptera

    Species
    See text
    Balaenoptera is the largest genus of the Rorqual whales, containing eight species, including the recently discovered Balaenoptera omurai in 2003.
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    Megaptera
    Gray, 1846

    Species: M. novaeangliae

    Binomial name
    Megaptera novaeangliae
    Borowski, 1781


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    Mysticeti
    Cope, 1891

    Diversity
    Around 15 species; see list of cetaceans or below.

    Families

    Balaenidae
    Balaenopteridae
    Eschrichtiidae
    Neobalaenidae
    The baleen whales, also called whalebone whales or great whales
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    species is one of the basic units of biological classification. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
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    genus (plural: genera) is part of the Latinized name for an organism. It is a name which reflects the classification of the organism by grouping it with other closely similar organisms.
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    tonne (t) or metric ton (M/T), also referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI.
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    Norwegian}}} 
    Official status
    Official language of:  Norway
    Nordic Council
    Regulated by: Norwegian Language Council
    Language codes
    ISO 639-1: no — Norwegian
    nb — Bokml
    nn — Nynorsk
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    Motto
    Royal: Alt for Norge ("Everything for Norway")
    1814 Eidsvoll oath:     Enige og tro til Dovre faller
    ("United and faithful until the mountains of Dovre crumble")

    Anthem
    Ja, vi elsker

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    B. brydei
    B. edeni

    Binomial name
    Balaenoptera brydei
    Olsen, 1913

    Balaenoptera edeni
    Anderson, 1879

    Bryde's Whale range

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    Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions; with a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres (41.1 million square miles), it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface.
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    Earth's oceans
    (World Ocean)
    • Arctic Ocean
    • Atlantic Ocean
    • Indian Ocean
    • Pacific Ocean
    • Southern Ocean


    The Pacific Ocean (from the Latin name Mare Pacificum
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    Earth's oceans
    (World Ocean)
    • Arctic Ocean
    • Atlantic Ocean
    • Indian Ocean
    • Pacific Ocean
    • Southern Ocean
    This article is about the water body. For the Indian fusion music band, see Indian Ocean (band).

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    Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. In the northern hemisphere, the Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean (which overlies the North Pole) and parts of Canada, Greenland (a territory of Denmark), Russia, the United
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    B. brydei
    B. edeni

    Binomial name
    Balaenoptera brydei
    Olsen, 1913

    Balaenoptera edeni
    Anderson, 1879

    Bryde's Whale range

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Megaptera
    Gray, 1846

    Species: M. novaeangliae

    Binomial name
    Megaptera novaeangliae
    Borowski, 1781


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    ocean current is any more or less continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earth's oceans. Ocean Currents are rivers of hot or cold water within the ocean.
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    Plankton are any drifting organism that inhabits the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. It is a description of life-style rather than a genetic classification.
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    This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
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