Baleen whales (Mysticeti) split from toothed whales (Odontoceti) 34 million years ago, spanning four families with only 15 species. Although commercial whaling has now been banned, scientists fear that it may be too late for the species to recover from such a massive population decline. Almost 750,000 fin whales were reportedly taken from the Southern Hemisphere alone between 19. However, the species suffered the most drastic declines of any of the rorquals following the onset of modern commercial whaling. It was for this reason that the fin whale was not initially targeted by early whalers. 10 Largest Whale Species on the Planet Blue Whale (98 feet / 30 meters) Fin Whale (90 feet / 27.5 meters) Sperm Whale (67 feet / 20.5 meters) Right Whale (60 feet / 18. Other blue whales often grow to be around 90 feet long and weigh around 200,000 pounds. Antarctic whales can reach 110 feet long and weigh 330,000 pounds. Those found in the Antarctic tend to be larger than blue whales found in other oceans. Some populations could be endangered to the point of extinction. The blue whale is not only the biggest whale, but it is also the biggest animal that has ever existed. Blue whales are now extremely rare due to uncontrolled commercial whaling. She tipped the scales at 190 tonnes (418,878 lb) which is equivalent to about 30 elephants or 2500 people. Second in size only to the blue whale, the fin whale is the largest whale known to breach.įamed for its ability to sustain speeds of almost 40 km/hour, the species is sometimes referred to as the “greyhound of the sea”. The heaviest blue whale was also a female hunted in the Southern Ocean, Antarctica, on 20 March 1947.
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