Omura's whale

Omura's whale
Omura's whale
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:
B. omurai
Binomial name
Balaenoptera omurai
Wada, Oishi & Yamada, 2003

Omura's whale or the dwarf fin whale (Balaenoptera omurai) is a species of rorqual about which very little is known.[3] Before its formal description, it was referred to as a small, dwarf or pygmy form of Bryde's whale by various sources.[4] The common name and specific epithet commemorate Japanese cetologist Hideo Omura [jp].[5][6]

The scientific description of this whale was made in Nature in 2003 by three Japanese scientists. They determined the existence of the species by analysing the morphology and mitochondrial DNA of nine individuals – eight caught by Japanese research vessels in the late 1970s in the Indo-Pacific and an adult female collected in 1998 from Tsunoshima, an island in the Sea of Japan. Later, abundant genetic evidence confirmed Omura's whale as a valid species and revealed it to be an early offshoot from the rorqual lineage, diverging much earlier than Bryde's and sei whales. It is perhaps more closely related to its larger relative, the blue whale.[5][7]

In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World, the "species" is relegated to being a synonym of Balaenoptera edeni. However, the authors note that this is subject to a revision of the genus.[8] The database ITIS lists this as a valid taxon, noting a caveat on the disputed systematics of this species, Balaenoptera edeni and Balaenoptera brydei.[9]

  1. ^ Cooke, J.G.; Brownell Jr.; R.L. (2019) [amended version of 2018 assessment]. "Balaenoptera omurai". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T136623A144790120. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-1.RLTS.T136623A144790120.en. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  3. ^ Thomas, Jefferson; Marc A. Webber & Robert L. Pitman (2008). Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to their Identification. London: Academic. ISBN 978-0-12-383853-7. OCLC 272382231.
  4. ^ Ohsumi 1978, Wada and Numachi 1991, Carwardine 1995, Perrin et al. 1996, Kahn 2001, LeDuc and Dizon 2002, Kato 2002, and many others
  5. ^ a b Wada, S.; Oishi, M.; Yamada, T.K. (2003). "A newly discovered species of living baleen whale". Nature. 426 (6964): 278–281. Bibcode:2003Natur.426..278W. doi:10.1038/nature02103. OCLC 110553472. PMID 14628049. S2CID 4301170.
  6. ^ Weintraub, Karen (March 22, 2019). "An Elusive Whale Is Found All Around the World - Researchers are learning about a newly identified species of baleen whales, tracing sightings and sounds to learn that they stay mainly in tropical waters". The New York Times. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  7. ^ 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 (1): 40–52. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.03.032. PMID 16843687.
  8. ^ Balaenoptera edeni Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  9. ^ "Balaenoptera omura Wada, Oishi, and Yamada, 2003". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.