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''Balaena'' is a genus of
cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...
(whale) in the family
Balaenidae Balaenidae () is a family of whales of the parvorder Mysticeti that contains two living genera: the right whales (genus ''Eubalaena''), and in a separate genus, the closely related bowhead whale (genus ''Balaena''). Evolutionary history Bale ...
. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single
extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...
species, the
bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...
(''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time considered all of the
right whale Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the Southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are clas ...
s (and the bowhead) as a single species. Historically, both the family Balaenidae and genus ''Balaena'' were known by the common name, "right whales", however ''Balaena'' are now known as bowhead whales. "The taxonomy is not in doubt.... Concerning common names, the species was once commonly known in the North Atlantic and adjacent Arctic as the Greenland Right Whale. However, the common name Bowhead Whale is now generally used for the species." Throughout history, the family Balaenidae has been the subject of great taxonomic debate. Authorities have repeatedly recategorized the three populations of right whale plus the bowhead whale, as one, two, three or four species, either in a single genus or in two separate genera. In the early whaling days, they were all thought to be a single species, ''Balaena mysticetus''. Eventually, it was recognized that bowheads and right whales were in fact different. Later, morphological factors such as differences in the skull shape of northern and southern right whales indicated at least two species of right whale—one in the Northern Hemisphere, the other in the Southern Ocean. As recently as 1998, Dale Rice, in his comprehensive and otherwise authoritative classification, ''Marine mammals of the world: systematics and distribution'', listed just two species: ''Balaena glacialis'' (the right whales) and ''Balaena mysticetus'' (the bowheads). A DNA study by Rosenbaum in 2000, and another study by Churchill in 2007 finally provided clear evidence to conclude that the ''three'' living right whale species do comprise a phylogenetic lineage, ''distinct from the bowhead'', and that the bowhead and the right whales are rightly classified into two separate genera. The right whales, therefore, are now officially in the genus '' Eubalaena''. The fossil record of ''Balaena'', dating to the late Miocene, encompasses ten species known from finds in Europe, North America, and South America.The Paleobiology Database ''Balaena'' entry
accessed on 21 December 2010
''Balena'', described by Scopoli in 1777, and ''Leiobalaena'', described by Eschricht in 1849, are
junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...
s of ''Balaena''.


Taxonomy

* ''Balaena''
Bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...
s **
A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
''
Balaena affinis ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' ( Pliocene; Red Crag Formation, UK) ** † ''
Balaena montalionis ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' (
Piacenzian The Piacenzian is in the international geologic time scale the upper stage (stratigraphy), stage or latest age (geology), age of the Pliocene. It spans the time between 3.6 ± 0.005 year#SI prefix multipliers, Ma and 2.588 ± 0.005 Ma (million yea ...
;
Casina Casina ( egl, label=Montanaro, Caṡîna ; egl, label= Reggiano, Caṡèina ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Reggio Em ...
, Italy). ** '' Balaena mysticetus'',
Bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus'') is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and the only living representative of the genus ''Balaena''. They are the only baleen whale endemic to the Arctic and subarctic waters, ...
(
Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of ...
to
Modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...
) ** † ''
Balaena ricei ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' (Piacenzian; Rice's Pit,
Yorktown Formation The Yorktown Formation is a mapped bedrock unit in the Coastal Plain of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. It is overconsolidated and highly fossiliferous. Description The Yorktown is composed largely of overconsolidated san ...
, Virginia, USA).


Dubious species

* † ''
Balaena arcuata ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' ( Miocene/Pliocene; Belgium) * † ''
Balaena forsythmajori ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' ( Zanclean;
Case il Poggio Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods), a package of related merchandise * Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component * Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books * Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to ...
. Italy) * † ''
Balaena larteti ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' (
Neogene The Neogene ( ), informally Upper Tertiary or Late Tertiary, is a geologic period and system that spans 20.45 million years from the end of the Paleogene Period million years ago ( Mya) to the beginning of the present Quaternary Period Mya. ...
;
Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word '' ...
, France) * † ''
Balaena macrocephalus ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' ( Langhian; Sos, France) * † ''
Balaena simpsoni ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' (Miocene/Pliocene; Ancud, Chile) (possibly a member of
Neobalaenidae Neobalaenidae is a family of baleen whales (suborder Mysticeti) including the extant pygmy right whale. Although traditionally considered related to balaenids, a recent phylogenetic study by Fordyce and Marx (2013) recovered the living pygmy ri ...
R. Donoso-Barros. 1975. Contribucion al conocimiento de los cetaceos vivientes y fosiles del territorio de Chile. Gayana Zoologica 36:1-127)


Species inquirenda

* † ''
Balaena pampaea ''Balaena'' is a genus of cetacean (whale) in the family Balaenidae. ''Balaena'' is considered a monotypic genus, as it has only a single extant species, the bowhead whale (''B. mysticetus''). It was named in 1758 by Linnaeus, who at the time con ...
'' ( Calabrian; Pampeana Formation,
Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 3 ...
, Argentina) † =
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
species


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4820658 Balaenidae Mammal genera Mammal genera with one living species Extant Miocene first appearances Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus