• Balaenoptera Lacépède, B.G.É. 1804. Histoire Naturelle des Cétacées.dediée à Anne-Caroline La Cepède: par le Citoyen La Cepède. Paris : Chez Plassan, Imprimeur-Libraire xxxiii 329 pp. [114].

  Type species:

   Balaenoptera gibbar Lacépède, 1804 by monotypy.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [151] (for extralimital synonymy)

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal.

IMCRA

Timor Transition (1), Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Timor Province (2), Cape Province (20), Norfolk Island Province (21), Cocos (Keeling) Island Province (22), Macquarie Island Province (24), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Northwest Transition (3), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition (32), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Other Regions

Australian Antarctic Territory, Heard & McDonald Islands (Aust. Terr.)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Antarctic Region

• Australian Antarctic Territory
• Heard & McDonald Islands (Aust. Terr.)
• Subantarctic Islands
  • Crozet Islands
  • Kerguélen Island

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Central E coast, Central W coast, Great Barrier Reef, Lower E coast, Lower W coast, N coast, NE coast, S Gulfs coast, SW coast, Tas. Coast
  • 200 mile fishing zone: W oceanic
  • Western Australia: SW coast, SW coastal

Neotropical Region

• Argentina

Distribution References

History of changes

• Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, B.G.É. 1804. Histoire Naturelle des Cétacées.dediée à Anne-Caroline La Cepède: par le Citoyen La Cepède. Paris : Chez Plassan, Imprimeur-Libraire xxxiii 329 pp. [134] [as Balaenoptera acuto-rostrata, replacement name for Balaena rostrata Fabricius, 1780].

  Type data:

   Status unknown, (none in existence), Cherbourg, France.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.
• Balaena rostrata Fabricius, O. 1780. Fauna Groenlandica. Systematice sistens, Animalia Groenlandiae occidentalis hactenus indagata, quad Nomen specificum, triviale, vernaculumque Synonyma Auctorum plurium, Descriptionem, Locum, Victum, Generationem, Mores, Usum, Capturamque singuli, pront detegendi Occasio fuit, maximaque Parte secundum proprias Observationes. Havniae & Lipsiae : Heineck & Faber 452 pp., 1 pl. [40] [junior homonym of Balaena rostrata Müller, 1776; see True, F.W. 1898. The nomenclature of the whalebone whales of the tenth edition of Linnaeus's. Systema Naturae. Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 21: 617–635 [634]].

  Type data:

   Status unknown, BMNH 45679 skull, N Atlantic (Greenland seas).

  Secondary source:

   True, F.W. 1898. The nomenclature of the whalebone whales of the tenth edition of Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 21: 617-635; Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Clayton et al. (2006) give the general distribution of this species.

IMCRA

Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Norfolk Island Province (21), Macquarie Island Province (24), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Great Australian Bight Shelf Transition (32), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Ecological Descriptors

Migratory, oceanic province, pelagic, planktivore.

General References

Anon. 1978. Southern Hemisphere Baleen Whales. pp. 54-56 in [Committee] (ed.). Mammals in the Seas. FAO Fisheries Series 5(1). Rome : FAO/UN.

Arnold, P. 1997. Occurrence of dwarf minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) on the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Report of the International Whaling Commission 47: 419-424

Arnold, P.W., Birtles, R.A., Dunstand, A., Lukoschek, V. & Matthews, M. 2005. Colour patterns of the dwarf minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata sensu lato: description, cladistic analysis and taxonomic implicatons. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 51: 277-307

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Birtles, A., Arnold, P. & Dunstan, A. 2002. Commercial swim programs with dwarf minke whales on the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia: some characteristics of the encounters with management implications. Australian Mammalogy 24: 23-38

Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii

Gaskin, D.E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins and Seals, with Special Reference to the New Zealand Region. London : Heinemann 200 pp.

Gedamske, J., Costa, D. & Dunstan, A. 2001. Localisation and visual verification of complex minke whale vocalisation. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 109: 3038-3047

Kasamatsu, F., Nishiwaki, S. & Ishikawa, H. 1995. Breeding areas and southbound migrations of southern minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Marine Ecology Progress Series 119: 1-10

Leatherwood, S. & Reeves, R.R. 1983. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books xviii 302 pp.

Ling, J.K. & Aitken, P.F. 1981. Marine mammals in South Australia. in, S.A. Year Book, 1981. Adelaide : Australian Bureau of Statistics 10 pp.

Stewart, B.S. & Leatherwood, S. 1985. Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804. pp. 91-136 in Ridgway, S.H. & Harrison, R.J. (eds). Handbook of Marine Mammals. Volume 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. London : Academic Press 362 pp.

Valentine, P.S., Birtles, R.A., Curnock, M.I., Arnold, P.W. & Dunstan, A.J. 2004. Getting closer to whales — passenger expectations and experiences, and the management of swim with dwarf minke whale interactions in the Great Barrier Reef. Tourism Management 25: 647-655

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Dwarf Minke Whale)

History of changes

• Balaenoptera bonaerensis Burmeister, H. 1867. Preliminary description of a new species of Finner Whale. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1867: 707-713 [as Balænoptera bonaërensis].

  Type data:

   Holotype MCNBA skeleton, near Belgrano, Buenos Aires.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

S Atlantic; Clayton et al. (2006) give the general distribution of this species.

IMCRA

Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Other Regions

Australian Antarctic Territory

Ecological Descriptors

Migratory, oceanic province, pelagic, planktivore.

General References

Anon. 1978. Southern Hemisphere Baleen Whales. pp. 54-56 in [Committee] (ed.). Mammals in the Seas. FAO Fisheries Series 5(1). Rome : FAO/UN.

Arnold, P., Marsh, H. & Heinsohn, G. 1987. The occurrence of two forms of minke whales in east Australian waters with a description of external characters and skeleton of the diminutive or dwarf form. Scientific Reports of the Whales Research Institute, Tokyo 38: 1-46

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Best, P.B. 1982. Seasonal abundance, feeding, reproduction, age and growth in minke whales off Durban (with incidental observations from the Antarctic). Report of the International Whaling Commission 32: 759-786

Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii

Gaskin, D.E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins and Seals, with Special Reference to the New Zealand Region. London : Heinemann 200 pp.

Horwood, J. 1990. Biology and Exploitation of the Minke Whale. Baton Rouge, Florida : CRC Press.

Kasamatsu, F., Nishiwaki, S. & Ishikawa, H. 1995. Breeding areas and southbound migrations of southern minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata. Marine Ecology Progress Series 119: 1-10

Ling, J.K. & Aitken, P.F. 1981. Marine mammals in South Australia. in, S.A. Year Book, 1981. Adelaide : Australian Bureau of Statistics 10 pp.

Mahoney, J.A. 1975. The identity and status of Thomas' 'lectotype' of Leporillus apicalis (Gould, 1853) [Rodentia: Muridae]. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 99: 101-104

Stewart, B.S. & Leatherwood, S. 1985. Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacépède, 1804. pp. 91-136 in Ridgway, S.H. & Harrison, R.J. (eds). Handbook of Marine Mammals. Volume 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. London : Academic Press 362 pp.

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Antarctic Minke Whale)

History of changes

• Balaenoptera borealis Lesson, R.P. 1828. Cétacés. Complément des Oeuvres de Buffon ou histoire naturelle des animaux rares découverts par les naturalists et les voyageurs depuis la mort de Buffon. Paris : Publisher unknown 442 pp. [342].

  Type data:

   Holotype TAIC skeleton, coast near Gromitz, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.
• Balaena rostrata Rudolphi, C.A. 1822. Anatomische Bemerkungen über Balaena rostrata. Abhandlungen der Königlich-Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Berlin 1820–21: 27-40 [27] [junior homonym of Balaena rostrata Müller, 1776].

  Type data:

   Holotype ZMB skeleton, coast near Gromitz, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [160] (see also for synonyms based on non-Australian material)

Distribution

States

South Australia, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal but probably not into coldest waters.

IMCRA

Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, migratory, oceanic, pelagic, predator.

General References

Anon. 1977. Report of the Special Meeting of the Scientific Committee on Sei and Bryde's Whales. Rep. Int. Whal. Comm. (Special Issue 1). 150 pp.

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii

Gaskin, D.E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins and Seals, with Special Reference to the New Zealand Region. London : Heinemann 200 pp.

Horwood, J. 1987. The Sei Whale: Population Biology, Ecology and Management. London : Croon Helm.

Horwood, J. 2002. Sei whale. pp. 1069-1071 in Perrin, W.F., Wursig, B. & Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. San Diego : Academic Press.

Leatherwood, S. & Reeves, R.R. 1983. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books xviii 302 pp.

Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47

Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London : Hutchinson 302 pp.

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Sei Whale)

History of changes

• Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, J. 1878. Anatomical and Zoological Researches; comprising an account of zoological results of two expeditions to western Yunnan in 1868 and 1875; and a monograph of the two cetacean genera, Platanista and Orcella. London : Bernard Quaritch I (text), Vol. II (plates) 984 pp. [551].

  Type data:

   Holotype IM mounted skeleton, Thaybyoo Choung, Gulf of Martaban, Burma.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [158] (see also for synonyms based on non-Australian material)

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal but tropical and warm temperate waters only.

IMCRA

Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Cape Province (20), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41), Central Western Transition (5)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, oceanic, pelagic, predator.

General References

Aitken, P.F. 1971. Whales from the coast of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 95: 95-103

Anon. 1977. Report of the Special Meeting of the Scientific Committee on Sei and Bryde's Whales. Rep. Int. Whal. Comm. (Special Issue 1). 150 pp.

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Best, P.B. 1977. Two allopatric forms of Bryde's whale off South Africa. Reports of the International Whaling Commission Special Issue 1: 10-38

Dixon, J.M. 1970. Two new whale records from Victoria. Victorian Naturalist 87: 88-93

Gaskin, D.E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins and Seals, with Special Reference to the New Zealand Region. London : Heinemann 200 pp.

Kato, H. 2002. Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni and B. brydei. pp. 171-177 in Perrin, W.F., Wursig, B. & Thewissen, J.G.M. (eds). Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. San Diego : Academic Press.

Leatherwood, S. & Reeves, R.R. 1983. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books xviii 302 pp.

Priddel, D. & Wheeler, R. 1997. Rescue of a Bryde's whale Balaenoptera edeni entrapped in the Manning River, New South Wales: Unmitigated success or unwarranted intervention? The Australian Zoologist 30: 261-271

Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47

Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London : Hutchinson 302 pp.

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Bryde's Whale)

History of changes

• Balaena musculus Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10 Edn., 824 pp. [type details not available currently].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [170] (see for synonyms based on non-Australian material)

Generic Combinations

• Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal.

IMCRA

Timor Transition (1), Southeast Transition (11), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Central Western Shelf Transition (28), Central Western Shelf Province (29), Southwest Shelf Transition (30), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41), Central Western Transition (5), Southwest Transition (7), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Other Regions

Heard & McDonald Islands (Aust. Terr.)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, migratory, oceanic, pelagic, predator.

Extra Ecological Information

Found in disturbed habitats.

General References

Aitken, P.F. 1971. Whales from the coast of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 95: 95-103

Anon. 1978. Southern Hemisphere Baleen Whales. pp. 54-56 in [Committee] (ed.). Mammals in the Seas. FAO Fisheries Series 5(1). Rome : FAO/UN.

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii

Calambokidis, J. & Steiger, G. 1997. Blue Whales. Stillwater, MN : Voyagueur Press.

Gill, P.C. & Morrice, M.G. 2003. Blue Whales in Bonney Upwelling: Current Information. Deakin University, School of Ecology and Environment, Technical Paper 2003/1. 29 pp.

Guiler, E.R. 1978. Whale strandings in Tasmania since 1945 with notes on some seal reports. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 112: 189-213

Ichihara, T. 1966. The Pygmy Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda, a new subspecies from the Antarctic. pp. 79-113 in Norris, K.S. (ed.). Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. Berkeley & Los Angeles : Univ. California Press.

Isles, A.C. 1981. A blue whale Balaenoptera musculus stranded near Warrnambool, Victoria. Victorian Naturalist 98: 52-53

Leatherwood, S. & Reeves, R.R. 1983. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books xviii 302 pp.

McCauley, R., Bannister, J., Burton, C., Jenner, C., Rennie, S. & Kent, C.S. 2004. Western Australian Exercise Area Blue Whale Project, Final Summary Report. CMST Report R2004-29, Curtin University.

Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47

Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London : Hutchinson 302 pp.

Yochem, P.K. & Leatherwood, S. 1985. Blue whale Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758). pp. 193-240 in Ridgway, S.H. & Harrison, R.J. (eds). Handbook of Marine Mammals. Volume 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. London : Academic Press 362 pp.

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Blue Whale)

History of changes

• Baeleanoptera musculus brevicauda Ichihara, T. 1966. The Pygmy Blue Whale, Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda, a new subspecies from the Antarctic. pp. 79-113 in Norris, K.S. (ed.). Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises. Berkeley & Los Angeles : Univ. California Press. [80].

  Type data:

   Holotype NSMT 9287 baleen plate from ♀ 19.2 m in length, Subantarctic Ocean [49°59'S 28°25'E].

Distribution

States

South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria

IMCRA

Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37)

Other Regions

Heard & McDonald Islands (Aust. Terr.)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, migratory, oceanic, pelagic, predator.

History of changes

• Balaenoptera musculus intermedia Burmeister, H. 1871. Sobre Balaenoptera intermedia, B. patachonica y B. bonaerensis y sus caracteres distintivos. Boletin do Museu Público Buenos Aires 2: 11-14.

  Type data:

   Status unknown, Near mouth of Rio Lujan, Buenos Aires.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IMCRA

Southeast Transition (11), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Southwest Transition (7), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, migratory, oceanic, oceanic province, pelagic, planktivore, predator.

History of changes

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Clayton et al. (2006) give the general distribution of this species.

IMCRA

Timor Transition (1), Northern Shelf Province (25), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Southwest Shelf Province (31), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38), Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

Original AFD Distribution Data

Australian Region

• Australia
  • 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Central E coast, Lower E coast, N coast, NE coast, S Gulfs coast, SW coast, Tas. Coast

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, migratory, oceanic, oceanic province, pelagic, planktivore, predator.

History of changes

• Balaenoptera omurai Wada, S., Oishi, M. & Yamada, T.K. 2003. A newly discovered species of living baleen whale. Nature 426: 278-281 [Date published 20 November 2003] [278].

  Type data:

   Holotype NSMT M32505 adult female, Tsunoshima Island, The Sea of Japan [34°21’03"N, 130°53’09"E].
  Paratype(s) NRIFSF NRIFSF1–6 3 ♀, 3 ♂, Solomon Sea [west of Guadalcanal]; NRIFSF NRIFSF7–8 2 ♀, eastern Indian Ocean near the Cocos [Keeling] Islands
  Comment: co-ordinates of each paratype given in Wada et al. (2003).

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Off Mission Beach and Port Douglas, QLD, Black Point, Gulf St. Vincent, SA, and off northwestern Australia from Exmouth, WA, to the Timor Sea north of Darwin, NT, also Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean; tropical, Atlantic, Indo-west Pacific (see Cerchio et al. 2019 for details)

IMCRA

Timor Province (2), Cocos (Keeling) Island Province (22), Northwest Shelf Transition (26), Northwest Shelf Province (27), Northwest Transition (3), Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Northwest Province (4), Northeast Shelf Province (40), Northeast Shelf Transition (41)

General References

Cerchio, S., Yamada, T.K. & Brownell Jr., R.L. 2019. Global distribution of Omura’s Whales (Balaenoptera omurai) and assessment of range-wide threats. Frontiers in Marine Science 6(67): 1-18

Sasaki, T., Nikaido, M., Wada, S., Yamada, T. K., Cao, Y., Hasegawa, M. & Okada, N. 2006. Balaenoptera omurai is a newly discovered baleen whale that represents an ancient evolutionary lineage. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 40-52

History of changes

• Balaena physalus Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10 Edn., 824 pp. [75] [as (Balaena) Physalus].

  Type data:

   Status unknown, (none in existence), Spitzbergen Sea.

  Secondary source:

   Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Hershkovitz, P. 1966. Catalog of living whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum 246: viii 1-259 [163] (see also for synonyms based on non-Australian material)

Generic Combinations

• Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758).

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Circumglobal.

IMCRA

Tasmania Province (10), Southeast Transition (11), Central Eastern Province (12), Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northwest Province (4), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7), Southern Province (8), West Tasmania Transition (9)

Ecological Descriptors

Continental shelf, migratory, oceanic, pelagic, predator.

General References

Aitken, P.F. 1971. Whales from the coast of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 95: 95-103

Anon. 1978. Southern Hemisphere Baleen Whales. pp. 54-56 in [Committee] (ed.). Mammals in the Seas. FAO Fisheries Series 5(1). Rome : FAO/UN.

Bannister, J.L., Kemper, C.M. & Warneke, R.M. 1996. The Action Plan for Australian Cetaceans. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency 242 pp.

Bryden, M.M. 1978. Whales and whaling in Queensland waters. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 89: v-xviii

Gambell, R. 1985. Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758). pp. 171-192 in Ridgway, S.H. & Harrison, R.J. (eds). Handbook of Marine Mammals. Volume 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. London : Academic Press 362 pp.

Gaskin, D.E. 1972. Whales, Dolphins and Seals, with Special Reference to the New Zealand Region. London : Heinemann 200 pp.

Guiler, E.R. 1978. Whale strandings in Tasmania since 1945 with notes on some seal reports. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 112: 189-213

Leatherwood, S. & Reeves, R.R. 1983. The Sierra Club Handbook of Whales and Dolphins. San Francisco : Sierra Club Books xviii 302 pp.

Warneke, R.M. 1983. Whale stranding — accident or design. Australian Natural History 21: 43-47

Watson, L. 1981. Sea Guide to Whales of the World. London : Hutchinson 302 pp.

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Fin Whale)

History of changes