Fin Whale

Conservation

Scientific Classification

Order	Artiodactyla
Infraorder	Cetacea
Family	Balaenopteridae
Genus	Balaenoptera
Binomial name	Balaenoptera physalus

Range Map

Description

The fin whale is a large whale growing between 59-88 ft (18-27m), although slightly smaller in the Northern Hemisphere.

Fin whales reach a weight between 34-100 tons. There are several thousand of the species off the West Coast of America.

They have pigmentation on their heads that is different on both sides, which is rare for a whale. This is said to be to confuse their prey.

They are the second-largest living animal on Earth after the blue whale.

Populations of the fin whale can be seen almost year-round in the Gulf of California.