Blue whale
Scientific name: Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Overview
The blue whale is a species of baleen whale and the largest marine mammal in the rorqual family Balaenopteridae. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9–30.5 m (98–100 ft) and weighing up to 190–200 t, it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue on its upper surface and somewhat lighter underneath. Four subspecies are recognized: B. m. musculus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific, B. m. intermedia in the Southern Ocean, B. m. brevicauda in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean, and B. m. indica in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.
From the Wikipedia article “Blue whale”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Size and lifespan
| Measurement | Value |
|---|---|
| Length — Female | 27.1 m |
Source: Wikidata, citing www.marinespecies.org.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean.
Common names
Also known in English as Pygmy Blue Whale, Sibbold’s Rorqual, Sulphur-bottom Whale.
Names in other languages (14)
- Arabic
- حوت أزرق
- Bengali
- নীল তিমি
- Chinese
- 蓝鲸, 藍鯨
- French
- baleine bleue, rorqual bleu
- German
- Blauwal
- Hindi
- Blue whale
- Indonesian
- Paus biru
- Japanese
- シロナガスクジラ
- Persian
- نهنگ آبی
- Portuguese
- baleia-azul
- Russian
- синий кит
- Spanish
- Ballena azul
- Turkish
- Gök balina
- Urdu
- نیلی حوت
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, measurements, names in other languages. Q42196, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Blue whale”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — NOAA Photo Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026