The southern fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus quoyi'') is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as finback whale or common rorqual and formerly known as herring whale or razorback whale, is a cetacean belonging to the parvorder of baleen whales. It is the second-longest species of cet ...

that lives in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

. At least one other subspecies of fin whale, the

northern fin whale The northern fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus physalus'') is a subspecies of fin whale that lives in the North Atlantic Ocean and North Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It ...

(''B. p. physalus''), exists in the

northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...

Taxonomy

Based on differences in the vertebrae, the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Einar Lönnberg Axel Johann Einar Lönnberg (24 December 1865 – 21 November 1942) was a Swedish zoologist and conservationist. Lönnberg was born in Stockholm. He was head of the Vertebrate Department of the ''Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet'' (Swedish Natural Hi ...

(1931) designated ''Balaenoptera physalus quoyii'' (later the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n scientist A.G. Tomilin (1957) corrected this to ''B. p. quoyi''). ''B. p. quoyi'' in turn is based on ''Balaena quoyi'' (Fischer, 1829), which was the name given to a 16.7 m (55 ft) specimen seen on the shores of the Falkland Islands by Monsieur Quoy and originally named ''Balaena rostrata australis'' by Desmoulins (1822).Perrin, William F., James G. Mead, and Robert L. Brownell, Jr. "Review of the evidence used in the description of currently recognized cetacean subspecies". ''NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS'' (December 2009), pp. 1-35.

Size

Southern fin whales are larger than their northern hemisphere counterparts, with males averaging 20.5 m (67 ft) and females 22 m (72 ft).Evans, Peter G. H. (1987). ''The Natural History of Whales and Dolphins''. Facts on File. Maximum reported figures are 25 m (82 ft) for males and 27.3 m (89.5 ft) for females, while the longest measured by Mackintosh and Wheeler (1929) were 22.4 m (73' 7" ft) and 24.5 m (80' 5" ft); although Major F. A. Spencer, while whaling inspector of the factory ship ''Southern Princess'' (1936–38), confirmed the length of a 25.9 m (85 ft) female caught in the Antarctic south of the southern Indian Ocean. At sexual maturity, males average 19.2 m (63 ft) and females 19.9 m (65.3 ft).

Reproduction

Because of the opposing seasons in each hemisphere, ''B. p. quoyi'' breeds at a different time of the year than ''B. p. physalus''. Peak conception for ''B. p. quoyi'' is June–July, while peak birthing is in May. Along with the impacts of whaling, slower reproduction rate of the species may affect population recoveries as the total population size is predicted to be at less than 50% of its pre-whaling state by 2100.

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentar ...

. 2017
Post-whaling recovery of Southern Hemisphere

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. Retrieved on August 22, 2017

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q7570671 Baleen whales Cetaceans of the Indian Ocean Cetaceans of the Pacific Ocean Mammals of Asia Mammals of Oceania Mammals described in 1829