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Information about Pygmy Bryde's Whale

Bryde's Whales

Enlarge picture
Size comparison against an average human

Size comparison against an average human
Conservation status
Not evaluated
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Subclass:Eutheria
Order:Cetacea
Suborder:Mysticeti
Family:Balaenoptiidae
Genus:Balaenoptera
Species:B. brydei
B. edeni
Binomial name
Balaenoptera brydei
Olsen, 1913
Balaenoptera edeni
Anderson, 1879
Enlarge picture
Bryde's Whale range

Bryde's Whale range
Bryde’s Whales are the least-known and in many ways the most unusual of the rorquals. They are small by rorqual standards—no more than about 25 tonnes—prefer tropical and temperate waters to the polar seas that other whales in their family frequent; are largely coastal rather than pelagic, and although they retain the characteristic plates of whalebone that the baleen whales use to sieve small creatures from the waters with, their diet is composed almost entirely of fish.

"Bryde's" is pronounced "broo-dess", and the name is sometimes mistaken as "brutus whale". The Bryde’s whale got its name from Norwegian consul to South Africa, Johan Bryde, who helped set up the first whaling factory in South Africa in the early 1900s.

The whale is also called Luulumbo by the Kadazans in Sabah, Malaysia.

Bryde’s whales feed on pelagic schooling fish, such as anchovy and herring.

They are distributed widely throughout tropical and subtropical waters, with a separate, smaller, pygmy species found in tropical Western Pacific and South-East Asia.

Anatomy

In general, Bryde's Whales have a very broad and short head, with between 40 and 70 ventral grooves, and relatively large eyes.

The Bryde’s whale is a baleen whale and is unique in that it has three longitudinal ridges on its head, from the tip of the snout back to the blowhole. (The other rorquals have just one ridge.)

According to International Fund for Animal Welfare, the mammal has folds or grooves on its throat and chest that allow the mouth to expand when filled with water.

The whale has twin blowholes with a low splashguard to the front. It has no teeth but has two rows of baleen plates.

The prominently curved, pointed dorsal fin is readily seen when a Bryde's Whale surfaces. The flippers are small and slender; the broad, centrally notched tail flukes never break the surface.

Colour varies: the back is generally dark grey or blue to black, the ventral area a lighter cream, shading to greyish purple on the belly. Some have a number of whitish-grey spots, which may be scars from parasites or shark attacks.

Distribution

Specific occurences

  • On August 23, 2007, a large whale with wounds in several parts of its body was found dead in waters off the town of Tagdon, Barcelona in Sorsogon province in the Philippines. The 14-meter long, 7-ton corpse was later identified to be a Bryde's whale. This particular species is known to frequent the coastal waters of the central Philippines, specifically the waters off Siquijor, Bohol, Palawan and Camiguin.[1][2]

Ecology and life history

Life history

Bryde’s whales are believed to breed year round and their gestation period is estimated to be 12 months. Calves are about 4 m long at birth and weigh 1,000 kg.

Taxonomy

There appear to be two species, and some confusion between them exists. Bryde's Whales are very similar in appearance to Sei Whales and almost as large, and were not described until 1878 from a stranded specimen on the coast of Burma, which was given the name Balaenoptera edeni. In 1913 whales off the coast of South Africa were described as Balaenoptera brydei, the name being given to honour Johan Bryde, Norwegian consul and pioneer of the South African whaling industry.

By the 1950s, it was thought that they were a single species, which became B. edeni (because the first proposed name for any species always has priority) but retained Bryde's Whale as the common name. Recent genetic work, however, indicates that there are in fact two separate species:
  • Bryde’s Whale, Balaenoptera brydei, with a worldwide tropical and semi-tropical distribution, grows to 26 tonnes and 15 metres long.
  • The Pygmy Bryde's Whale (still often called Eden's Whale, Balaenoptera edeni), is found in coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific oceans.
Bryde's whales vary considerably in form. Five different types have been identified, including at least two smaller ones that tend to stay closer inshore. Alas from the point of view of taxonomic simplicity, DNA testing shows that the newly confirmed pygmy species of South-east Asia is not the same as the similar-looking small form found in the Caribbean. Complicating matters still further, there are forms which appear to be intermediate between Bryde's Whale and the Sei Whale. See also Balaenoptera omurai.

Conservation

Bryde’s whale is listed as Data Deficient by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). It is also listed on Conservation on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I, which prohibits international trade.

See also

 •  • [ e]
Baleen whales
Bowhead Whale Southern Right Whale North Atlantic Right Whale North Pacific Right Whale Fin Whale Sei Whale Bryde's Whale Blue Whale Minke Whale Balaenoptera omurai Humpback Whale Gray Whale Pygmy Right Whale

Bibliography

  • National Audubon Society Guide to Marine Mammals of the World, Reeves, Stewart, Clapham and Powell, 2002, ISBN 0-375-41141-0
  • Whales & Dolphins Guide to the Biology and Behaviour of Cetaceans, Maurizio Wurtz and Nadia Repetto. ISBN 1-84037-043-2
  • Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, editors Perrin, Wursig and Thewissen, ISBN 0-12-551340-2
  • Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Carwardine (1995, reprinted 2000), ISBN 978-0-7513-2781-6

References

1. ^ "42-ft-long whale found dead off Sorsogon", Home > Regions > Luzon, GMA News.TV, 2007-08-23. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. (English) 
2. ^ Labalan, Bobby. "Whale beaches self, dies in Sorsogon", Breaking news > Regions, Inquirer.net, 2007-08-23. Retrieved on 2007-08-24. (English) 

External links

conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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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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Eutheria

Orders[1]
  • Bobolestes
  • Eomaia
  • Maelestes
  • Montanalestes
  • Murtoilestes
  • Prokennalestes
  • Placentalia
  • Superorder

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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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Balaenopteridae
Gray, 1864

Genera

Balaenoptera
Megaptera

Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with nine species in two genera.
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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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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Professor John Anderson (4 October 1833 – 22 July 1900) was a Scottish zoologist.

He was born in Edinburgh, studied medicine in 1861 and went to India in 1861, becoming the first curator of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1865 and held the position until 1887,
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Balaenopteridae
Gray, 1864

Genera

Balaenoptera
Megaptera

Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, with nine species in two genera.
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whale can refer to all cetaceans, to just the larger ones, or only to members of particular families within the order Cetacea. The last definition is the one followed here. Whales are those cetaceans which are neither dolphins (i.e.
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family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Code which applies.
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Baleen makes up baleen plates, which are arranged in two parallel rows that look like combs of thick hair; they are attached to the upper jaws of baleen whales. It is composed of keratin, which is the same substance that makes up human hair and nails.
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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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Kadazans are an ethnic group indigenous to the state of Sabah in Malaysia. They are found mainly on the west coast of Sabah, the surrounding locales, and various locations in the interior.
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States and Territories of Malaysia
Sabah


Flag'' Coat of arms''

State motto: Sabah Maju Jaya

State anthem: Sabah Tanah Airku

Capital Kota Kinabalu


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Motto
"Bersekutu Bertambah Mutu"
"Unity Is Strength" 1
Anthem
Negaraku
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Parasitism is one version of symbiosis ("living together"), a phenomenon in which two organisms which are phylogenetically unrelated co-exist over a prolonged period of time, usually the lifetime of one of the individuals.
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Region: Bicol Region (Region V)
Capital: Sorsogon City
Founded: —
Population:
2000 census—650,535 (37th largest)
Density—304 per km (19th highest)
Area: 2,141.

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Region: Central Visayas (Region VII)
Capital: Siquijor
Founded: September 17, 1971
Population:
2000 census—81,598 (3rd smallest)
Density—238 per km (32nd highest)
Area: 343.

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Region: MIMAROPA (Region IV-B); (Ordered transferred to Western Visayas (Region VI) by Executive Order No. 429, May 23, 2005; implementation of EO429 held in abeyance by Administrative Order 129, August 19, 2005.
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This is the article on the island province of Camiguin in the Philippines. There is a different Camiguin Island, part of the Babuyan Islands, also in the Philippines.

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s  1850s  1860s  - 1870s -  1880s  1890s  1900s
1875 1876 1877 - 1878 - 1879 1880 1881

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Anthem
Kaba Ma Kyei


Capital Naypyidaw

Largest city Yangon (Rangoon)
Official languages Burmese
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