SPECIES ACCOUNTS
Large Whales With a Dorsal Fin
BLUE WHALE (B)[9]
Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus 1758)
[9] The letter in parentheses indicates whether the species is a baleen (B) or a toothed (T) whale.
Other Common Names
Sulphur-bottom.
Description
Blue whales are the largest living mammals. Though reports of maximum length and weight vary from one account to another, Antarctic blue whales are known to have reached lengths to 100 feet (30.5 m) and weights of over 150 tons (136,363 kg)[10] before stocks were severely depleted by whaling operations. North Atlantic blue whales may be expected to reach lengths of 80-85 feet (24.4-25.9 m). In all known populations of blue whales, females are slightly larger than males of the same age.
[10] The largest measured specimen was "just over" 100 feet (30.5 m); the largest specimen weighed, the 150-ton individual noted above, was 89 feet (27.1 m) long.