Bryde's whale

Bryde's whales
"Balaenoptera brydei"
Balaenoptera brydei
"Balaenoptera edeni"
Balaenoptera edeni
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Species complex: Bryde's whale complex
Species
  • Balaenoptera brydei Olsen, 1913
  • Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879
Bryde's whale range

Bryde's whale (/ˈbrʊdəz/ BRUU-dəz),[3][4] or the Bryde's whale complex, putatively comprises three species of rorqual and maybe four. The "complex" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. The common Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera brydei, Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and the Sittang or Eden's whale (Balaenoptera edeni, Anderson, 1879) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the Indo-Pacific.[5] Also, a smaller, coastal form of B. brydei is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale. The recently described Omura's whale (B. omurai, Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. Rice's whale (B. ricei), which makes its home solely in the Gulf of Mexico, was once considered a distinct population of Bryde's whale, but in 2021 it was described as a separate species.

B. brydei gets its specific and common name from Johan Bryde, Norwegian consul to South Africa, who helped establish the first modern whaling station in the country, while B. edeni gets its specific and common names from Sir Ashley Eden, former High Commissioner of Burma (Myanmar). Sittang whale refers to the type locality of the species.

  1. ^ Cooke, J.G.; Brownell Jr.; R.L. (2018). "Balaenoptera edeni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T2476A50349178. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T2476A50349178.en.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Definition of BRYDE'S WHALE". www.merriam-webster.com.
  4. ^ Helen Van Berkel (13 December 2009). "Hauraki Gulf: Thar she blows". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 21 August 2021. Bryde's (pronounced Brooder's)
  5. ^ "Bryde's Whales, Balaenoptera edeni". The MarineBio.org. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2015.