124-426: Finback may refer to: Alternate name for a Fin whale USS Finback the names of two US Navy submarines Finback (whaler) The Shenyang J-8 's Nato reporting name Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Finback . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
248-412: A darker gray to black in color. A mature gray whale can reach 40 t (44 short tons), with a typical range of 15–33 t (17–36 short tons), making them the ninth largest sized species of cetacean. Notable features that distinguish the gray whale from other mysticetes include its baleen that is variously described as cream, off-white, or blond in color and is unusually short. Small depressions on
372-457: A few mothers linger with their young calves well into May. Whale watching in Baja's lagoons is particularly popular because the whales often come close enough to boats for tourists to pet them. By late March or early April, the returning animals can be seen from Puget Sound to Canada. A population of about 200 gray whales stay along the eastern Pacific coast from Canada to California throughout
496-582: A fin whale off western Greenland . In January 1984, seven were seen from the air circling, holding the flippers, and ramming a fin whale in the Gulf of California, but the observation ended at nightfall. The fin whale is a filter-feeder , feeding on small schooling fish, squid and crustaceans including copepods and krill . In the North Pacific, they feed on krill in the genera Euphausia , Thysanoessa , and Nyctiphanes , large copepods in
620-494: A gray whale 30 miles (48 km) south of Nantucket, Massachusetts . Researchers used a genetic approach to estimate pre-whaling abundance based on samples from 42 gray whales, and reported DNA variability at 10 genetic loci consistent with a population size of 76,000–118,000 individuals, three to five times larger than the average census size as measured through 2007. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has collected surveys of gray whale population since at least
744-721: A gray whale was sighted off Sunny Isles Beach, Florida . Genetic analysis of fossil and prefossil gray whale remains in the Atlantic Ocean suggests several waves of dispersal from the Pacific to the Atlantic related to successive periods of climactic warming – during the Pleistocene before the last glacial period and the early Holocene immediately following the opening of the Bering Strait . This information and
868-614: A group of two or three were observed feeding in Izu Ōshima in 1994 for almost a month, two single individuals stayed in Ise Bay for almost two months in the 1980s and in 2012, the first confirmed living individuals in Japanese EEZ in the Sea of Japan and the first of living cow-calf pairs since the end of whaling stayed for about three weeks on the coastline of Teradomari in 2014. One of
992-479: A handful of capture records support this idea, although migrations into the sea have been confirmed. Recent studies using genetics and acoustics, suggest that there are several wintering sites for western gray whales such as Mexico and the East China sea. However, their wintering ground habits in the western North Pacific are still poorly understood and additional research is needed. Even though South Korea put
1116-655: A historically unique event. That study suggested that over the past 100,000 years there have been several migrations of gray whales between the Pacific and Atlantic, with the most recent large scale migration of this sort occurring about 5,000 years ago. These migrations corresponded to times of relatively high temperatures in the Arctic Ocean. In 2021, one individual was seen in the port of Rabat , Morocco , followed by sightings in Algeria and Italy . In March 2024, New England Aquarium researchers photographed
1240-410: A length of 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in); the testes usually weigh 1–3 kg (2.2–6.6 lb) in mature individuals. The oral cavity of the fin whale has a very stretchy or extensible nerve system which aids them in feeding. Mating takes place during the winter months, in temperate, low-latitude waters, and the gestation period lasts between 11 and 12 months. At 6 or 7 months of age, when it
1364-411: A length of 14.9 meters (49 ft), a weight of up to 41 tonnes (90,000 lb) and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be 75–80 years of age. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole living species in
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#17327756364531488-549: A major portion of the diet in 1965 (35.7%). Miscellaneous fish, squid, and octopus played only a very minor part of the diet in two of the five years (3.6 to 4.8%). Fin whales caught off California between 1959 and 1970 fed on the pelagic euphausiid Euphausia pacifica (86% of sampled individuals), the more neritic euphausiid Thysanoessa spinifera (9%), and the northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax ) (7%); only trace amounts (<0.5% each) were found of Pacific saury ( C. saira ) and juvenile rockfish ( Sebastes jordani ). In
1612-479: A new genus for it, Eschrichtius . Van Beneden & Gervais 1868 were convinced that the bones described by Lilljeborg could not belong to a living species but that they were similar to fossils that Van Beneden had described from the harbour of Antwerp (most of his named species are now considered nomina dubia ) and therefore named the gray whale Plesiocetus robustus , reducing Lilljeborg's and Gray's names to synonyms. Charles Melville Scammon produced one of
1736-584: A prey of choice, gray whales are opportunistic feeders and can easily switch from feeding planktonically to benthically. When gray whales feed planktonically, they roll onto their right side while their fluke remains above the surface, or they apply the skimming method seen in other baleen whales (skimming the surface with their mouth open). This skimming behavior mainly seems to be used when gray whales are feeding on crab larvae. Other prey items include polychaete worms , herring eggs, various forms of larvae, and small fish. Gray whales feed benthically, by diving to
1860-487: A roughly 15 m (49 ft) specimen found near Buenos Aires about 30 years earlier as Balaenoptera patachonicus . In 1903, Romanian scientist Emil Racoviță placed all these designations into Balaenoptera physalus . The word physalus comes from the Greek word physa , meaning "blows," referring to the prominent blow of the species. Fin whales are rorquals , members of the family Balaenopteridae , which includes
1984-458: A sampling of whale meat in the Japanese market found evidence of blue/fin hybrids. Similarly, a whale caught by whalers off the coast of Iceland in 2018 was found to be a hybrid descended from a female blue whale and a male fin whale. A 2024 genome analysis of North Atlantic blue whales found that approximately 3.5% of their genome was derived from hybridization with fin whales. The gene flow
2108-609: A small proportion of (mainly juvenile) blue whiting ( Micromesistius poutassou ) were also found. Of the krill sampled between 1979 and 1989, the vast majority (over 99%) was northern krill ( Meganyctiphanes norvegica ); only one stomach contained Thysanoessa longicaudata . Off West Greenland, 75% of the fin whales caught between July and October had consumed krill (family Euphausiidae), 17% capelin ( Mallotus ) and 8% sand lance ( Ammodytes sp. ). Off eastern Newfoundland , they chiefly feed on capelin, but also take small quantities of euphausiids (mostly T. raschii and T. inermis ). In
2232-522: A specimen that had been stranded near Saint-Cyprien, southern France, in 1828 as Balaena musculus . Most later authors followed him in using the specific name musculus , until Frederick W. True (1898) showed that it referred to the blue whale. In 1846, British taxonomist John Edward Gray described a 16.7 m (55 ft) specimen from the Falkland Islands as Balaenoptera australis . In 1865, German naturalist Hermann Burmeister described
2356-508: A third subspecies—this was supported by a 2013 study, which found that the Northern Hemisphere B. p. physalus was not composed of a single subspecies. A 2019 genetic study concluded that the North Pacific fin whales should be considered a subspecies, suggesting the name B. p. velifera (Scammon 1869). The three groups mix at most rarely. Clarke (2004) proposed a "pygmy" subspecies ( B. p. patachonica , Burmeister, 1865) that
2480-456: Is 11 to 12 m (36 to 39 ft) in length, a newborn weans from its mother, and the calf accompanies its mother to the summer feeding area. Although reports of up to six foetuses have been made, single births are far more typical. Females reproduce every two to three years. In the Northern Hemisphere, females reach sexual maturity between the ages of 6 and 12 at lengths of 17.7–19 m (58–62 ft), and around 20 m (66 ft) in
2604-580: Is a cosmopolitan species . It is found in all the world's major oceans and in waters ranging from the polar to the tropical. It is absent only from waters close to the ice pack at both the north and south extremities and relatively small areas of water away from the large oceans, such as the Red Sea , although they can reach into the Baltic Sea , a marginal sea of such conditions. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. It
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#17327756364532728-429: Is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale . The biggest individual reportedly measured 26 m (85 ft) in length, with a maximum recorded weight of 77 to 81 tonnes. The fin whale's body is long, slender and brownish-gray in color, with a paler underside to appear less conspicuous from below ( countershading ). At least two recognized subspecies exist, one in
2852-626: Is approximately 13 1 ⁄ 2 months, with females giving birth every one to three years. In the latter half of the pregnancy, the fetus experiences a rapid growth in length and mass. Similar to the narrow breeding season, most calves are born within a six-week time period in mid January. The calf is born tail first, and measures about 14–16 ft in length, and a weight of 2,000 lbs. Females lactate for approximately seven months following birth, at which point calves are weaned and maternal care begins to decrease. The shallow lagoon waters in which gray whales reproduce are believed to protect
2976-432: Is believed to be the longest annual migration of any mammal . By mid-December to early January, the majority are usually found between Monterey and San Diego such as at Morro bay , often visible from shore. The whale watching industry provides ecotourists and marine mammal enthusiasts the opportunity to see groups of gray whales as they migrate. By late December to early January, eastern grays begin to arrive in
3100-461: Is brownish to dark or light gray dorsally and white ventrally. The left side of the head is dark gray, while the right side exhibits a complex pattern of contrasting light and dark markings. The right lower jaw is white or light gray, which sometimes extends laterally and dorsally unto the upper jaw. Dark, oval-shaped areas of pigment called "flipper shadows" extend below and posterior to the pectoral fins. The penis size of fin whales typically reaches
3224-403: Is generally found more often on the dorsal fin, pectoral fins, and flukes. Other barnacles found on fin whales include the acorn barnacle Coronula reginae and the stalked barnacle Conchoderma auritum , which attaches to Coronula or the baleen. The harpacticid copepod Balaenophilus unisetus (heavy infestations of which have been found in fin whales caught off northwestern Spain) and
3348-501: Is less densely populated in the warmest, equatorial regions. The North Atlantic fin whale has an extensive distribution, occurring from the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea , northward to Baffin Bay and Spitsbergen . In general, fin whales are more common north of approximately 30°N latitude , but considerable confusion arises about their occurrence south of 30°N latitude because of
3472-539: Is not recognized by the Society for Marine Mammalogy . The genetic distance between blue and fin whales has been compared to that between a chimpanzee and human (3.5 million years on the evolutionary tree. ) Nevertheless, hybrid individuals between blue and fin whales with characteristics of both are known to occur with relative frequency in both the North Atlantic and North Pacific. The DNA profile of
3596-803: Is not well understood. Acoustic readings from passive-listening hydrophone arrays indicate a southward migration of the North Atlantic fin whale occurs in the autumn from the Labrador - Newfoundland region, south past Bermuda , and into the West Indies . One or more populations of fin whales are thought to remain year-round in high latitudes, moving offshore, but not southward in late autumn. A study based on resightings of identified fin whales in Massachusetts Bay indicates that calves often learn migratory routes from their mothers and return to their mother's feeding area in subsequent years. In
3720-622: Is only one confirmed record of accidentally killing of the species in Vietnam, at Ngoc Vung Island off Ha Long Bay in 1994 and the skeleton is on exhibition at the Quang Ninh Provincial Historical Museum. Gray whales are known to occur in Taiwan Strait even in recent years. It is also unknown whether any winter breeding grounds ever existed beyond Chinese coasts. For example, it is not known if
3844-546: Is purportedly darker in colour and has black baleen. He based this on a single physically mature 19.8 m (65 ft) female caught in the Antarctic in 1947–48, the smaller average size (a few feet) of sexually and physically mature fin whales caught by the Japanese around 50°S , and smaller, darker sexually immature fin whales caught in the Antarctic which he believed were a "migratory phase" of his proposed subspecies. The subspecies has not been genetically established, and
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3968-473: Is still unknown, since these whales tend to migrate in the open ocean. It has been shown that populations of fin whales within the Mediterranean have preferred feeding locations that partially overlap with high concentrations of plastic pollution and microplastic debris. High concentrations of microplastics most likely overlap with fin whales' preferred feeding grounds because both microplastic and
4092-592: Is the shallow (5–15 m (16–49 ft) depth) shelf off northeastern Sakhalin Island , particularly off the southern portion of Piltun Lagoon, where the main prey species appear to be amphipods and isopods . In some years, the whales have also used an offshore feeding ground in 30–35 m (98–115 ft) depth southeast of Chayvo Bay, where benthic amphipods and cumaceans are the main prey species. Some gray whales have also been seen off western Kamchatka, but to date all whales photographed there are also known from
4216-411: Is to circle schools of fish at high speed, frightening the fish into a tight ball, then turning on its side before engulfing the massed prey. Fin whales suffer from a number of pathological conditions. The parasitic copepod Pennella balaenopterae —usually found on the flank of fin whales—burrows into their blubber to feed on their blood, while the pseudo-stalked barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis
4340-480: Is to members of its own genus, such as the minke whales. As of 2023, four subspecies are named, each with distinct physical features and vocalizations. The northern fin whale , B. p. physalus (Linnaeus 1758) inhabits the North Atlantic and the southern fin whale , B. p. quoyi (Fischer 1829) occupies the Southern Hemisphere . Most experts consider the fin whales of the North Pacific to be
4464-550: The Bering and Chukchi seas and ending in the warm-water lagoons of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula and the southern Gulf of California , they travel along the west coast of Canada, the United States and Mexico. Traveling night and day, the gray whale averages approximately 120 km (75 mi) per day at an average speed of 8 km/h (5 mph). This round trip of 16,000–22,000 km (9,900–13,700 mi)
4588-644: The Chukchi Sea bordering the Arctic Ocean . They occur in high densities in the northern Gulf of Alaska and southeastern Bering Sea between May and October, with some movement through the Aleutian passes into and out of the Bering Sea. Several whales tagged between November and January off southern California were killed in the summer off central California, Oregon , British Columbia , and in
4712-575: The Gotō Islands . The IWC prohibited hunting in the Southern Hemisphere in 1976. The Soviet Union engaged in the illegal killing of protected whale species in the North Pacific and Southern Hemisphere, over-reporting fin whale catches to cover up illegal takes of other species. The fin whale was given full protection from commercial whaling by the IWC in the North Pacific in 1976, and in
4836-569: The Islas Marías , Bahía de Banderas , and Nayarit / Jalisco , and there were two modern calving grounds in Sonora ( Tojahui or Yavaros ) and Sinaloa ( Bahia Santa Maria , Bahia Navachiste, La Reforma, Bahia Altata) until being abandoned in the 1980s. These first whales to arrive are usually pregnant mothers looking for the protection of the lagoons to bear their calves, along with single females seeking mates. By mid-February to mid-March,
4960-636: The North Atlantic and one across the Southern Hemisphere . It is found in all the major oceans, from polar to tropical waters, though it is absent only from waters close to the pack ice at the poles and relatively small areas of water away from the open ocean. The highest population density occurs in temperate and cool waters. Its prey mainly consists of smaller schooling fish , small squid, or crustaceans, including copepods and krill . Mating takes place in temperate, low-latitude seas during
5084-447: The Sea of Okhotsk , mainly off Piltun Bay region at the northeastern coast of Sakhalin Island (Russian Federation). There are also occasional sightings off the eastern coast of Kamchatka (Russian Federation) and in other coastal waters of the northern Okhotsk Sea. Its migration routes and wintering grounds are poorly known, the only recent information being from occasional records on both
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5208-1147: The Shakotan Peninsula , and islands in the La Pérouse Strait such as Rebun Island and Rishiri Island . These areas may also have included feeding grounds. There are shallow, muddy areas favorable for feeding whales off Shiretoko , such as at Shibetsu , the Notsuke Peninsula , Cape Ochiishi on Nemuro Peninsula , Mutsu Bay , along the Tottori Sand Dunes , in the Suou-nada Sea , and Ōmura Bay . The historical calving grounds were unknown but might have been along southern Chinese coasts from Zhejiang and Fujian Province to Guangdong , especially south of Hailing Island and to near Hong Kong . Possibilities include Daya Bay , Wailou Harbour on Leizhou Peninsula , and possibly as far south as Hainan Province and Guangxi , particularly around Hainan Island . These areas are at
5332-422: The ciliate Haematophagus also infest the baleen, the former feeding on the baleen itself and the latter on red blood cells. The remora Remora australis and occasionally the amphipod Cyamus balaenopterae can also be found on fin whales, both feeding on the skin. Infestations of the giant nematode Crassicauda boopis can cause inflammation of the renal arteries and potential kidney failure, while
5456-534: The flukes . This is known as the dorsal ridge . The tail itself is 3–3.5 m (10–11 ft) across and deeply notched at the center while its edges taper to a point. The two populations of Pacific gray whales (east and west) are morphologically and phylogenically different. Other than DNA structures, differences in proportions of several body parts and body colors including skeletal features, and length ratios of flippers and baleen plates have been confirmed between Eastern and Western populations, and some claims that
5580-521: The genus Eschrichtius . It is the sole living genus in the family Eschrichtiidae , however some recent studies classify it as a member of the family Balaenopteridae . This mammal is descended from filter-feeding whales that appeared during the Neogene . The gray whale is distributed in a Northeast Pacific (North American), and an endangered Northwest Pacific (Asian), population. North Atlantic populations were extirpated (perhaps by whaling ) on
5704-448: The humpback whale , the blue whale , Bryde's whale , the sei whale , and the minke whale . The family diverged from the other baleen whales in the suborder Mysticeti as long ago as the middle Miocene . Recent DNA evidence indicates the fin whale may be more closely related to the humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) and, in at least one study, the gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ), two whales in different genera, than it
5828-418: The 17th century. This population ranged at least from Southampton, New York , to Jupiter Island, Florida , the latest from 1675. In his 1835 history of Nantucket Island , Obed Macy wrote that in the early pre-1672 colony a whale of the kind called "scragg" entered the harbor and was pursued and killed by the settlers. A. B. Van Deinse points out that the "scrag whale", described by P. Dudley in 1725 as one of
5952-466: The 1930s when it was finally realised that the extinct Atlantic population was the same species as the extant Pacific population, and the new combination Eschrichtius gibbosus was proposed. The gray whale has a dark slate-gray color and is covered by characteristic gray-white patterns, which are scars left by parasites that drop off in its cold feeding grounds. Individual whales are typically identified using photographs of their dorsal surface, matching
6076-785: The 1960s. They state that "the most recent population estimate [from 2007] was approximately 19,000 whales, with a high probability (88%) that the population is at 'optimum sustainable population' size, as defined by the Marine Mammal Protection Act ." They speculate that the ocean ecosystem has likely changed since the prewhaling era, making a return to prewhaling numbers infeasible. Factors limiting or threatening current population levels include ship strikes, entanglement in fishing gear, and changes in sea-ice coverage associated with climate change. Several whales seen off Sakhalin and on Kamchatka Peninsula have been confirmed to migrate towards eastern side of Pacific and join
6200-467: The Atlantic and Pacific populations cannot be proven by anatomical data, its skeleton is distinctive and easy to distinguish from that of all other living whales. Many other names have been ascribed to the gray whale, including desert whale, devilfish, gray back, mussel digger and rip sack. The name Eschrichtius gibbosus is sometimes seen; this is dependent on the acceptance of a 1777 description by Erxleben. A number of 18th century authors described
6324-422: The Atlantic coasts of England and Sweden were used by Gray to make the first scientific description of a species then surviving only in Pacific waters. The living Pacific species was described by Cope as Rhachianectes glaucus in 1869. Skeletal comparisons showed the Pacific species to be identical to the Atlantic remains in the 1930s, and Gray's naming has been generally accepted since. Although identity between
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#17327756364536448-503: The DNA analysis of last recorded stranding in China. Differences were also observed between Korean and Chinese specimens. Two Pacific Ocean populations are known to exist: one population that is very low, whose migratory route is presumed to be between the Sea of Okhotsk and southern Korea, and a larger one with a population of about 27,000 individuals in the eastern Pacific traveling between
6572-561: The European coast before 500 CE , and on the American and African Atlantic coasts around the late 17th to early 18th centuries. However, in the 2010s and 2020s there have been rare sightings of gray whales in the North Atlantic , Mediterranean , and even off South Atlantic coasts. The gray whale is traditionally placed as the only living species in its genus and family, Eschrichtius and Eschrichtiidae , but an extinct species
6696-404: The Gulf of Alaska. Fin whales have been observed feeding 250 miles south of Hawaii in mid-May, and several winter sightings have been made there. Some researchers have suggested that the whales migrate into Hawaiian waters primarily in the autumn and winter. Although fin whales are certainly migratory, moving seasonally in and out of high-latitude feeding areas, the overall migration pattern
6820-617: The IUCN downlisted the population's conservation status from critically endangered to endangered . The gray whale became extinct in the North Atlantic in the 18th century. They had been seasonal migrants to coastal waters of both sides of Atlantic, including the Baltic Sea , the Wadden Sea , the Gulf of St. Lawrence , the Bay of Fundy , Pamlico Sound and possibly Hudson Bay . Radiocarbon dating of subfossil or fossil European (Belgium,
6944-591: The Ligurian-Corsican-Provençal Basin in the Mediterranean Sea they make dives as deep as 470 m (1,540 ft) to feed on the euphausiid Meganyctiphanes norvegica , while off the island of Lampedusa , between Tunisia and Sicily , they have been observed in mid-winter feeding on surface swarms of the small euphausiid Nyctiphanes couchi . In the Southern Hemisphere, they feed almost exclusively on euphausiids (mainly
7068-576: The Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom) coastal remains confirms this, with whaling the possible cause for the population's extinction. Remains dating from the Roman epoch were found in the Mediterranean during excavation of the antique harbor of Lattara near Montpellier , France, in 1997, raising the question of whether Atlantic gray whales migrated up and down the coast of Europe from
7192-658: The North Atlantic in 1987, with small exceptions for aboriginal catches and catches for research purposes. All populations worldwide remain listed as endangered species by the US National Marine Fisheries Service and the International Conservation Union Red List . Gray whale The gray whale ( Eschrichtius robustus ), also known as the grey whale , is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches
7316-555: The North Atlantic, they prey on euphausiids in the genera Meganyctiphanes , Thysanoessa and Nyctiphanes and small schooling fish (e.g. the genera Clupea , Mallotus , and Ammodytes ). Of the 1,609 fin whale stomachs examined at the Hvalfjörður whaling station in southwestern Iceland from 1967 to 1989 (caught between June and September), 96% contained only krill, 2.5% krill and fish, 0.8% some fish remains, 0.7% capelin ( M. villosus ), and 0.1% sandeel (family Ammodytidae);
7440-428: The Pacific, migration patterns are poorly characterized. Although some fin whales are apparently present year-round in the Gulf of California , there is a significant increase in their numbers in the winter and spring. Southern fin whales migrate seasonally from relatively high-latitude Antarctic feeding grounds in the summer to low-latitude breeding and calving areas in the winter. The location of winter breeding areas
7564-452: The Piltun area. Diagram of the gray whale seafloor feeding strategy Predicted distribution models indicate that overall range in the last glacial period was broader or more southerly distributed, and inhabitations in waters where species presences lack in present situation, such as in southern hemisphere and south Asian waters and northern Indian Ocean were possible due to feasibility of
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#17327756364537688-693: The Southern Hemisphere between 1905 and 1976. Post-recovery numbers of the southern subspecies are predicted to be less than 50% of the pre-whaling population, even by 2100, due to long-lasting impacts of whaling and slow recovery rates. As of 2018, it was assessed as vulnerable by the IUCN . B. acutorostrata ( minke whale ) [REDACTED] B. musculus ( blue whale ) [REDACTED] B. borealis ( sei whale ) [REDACTED] Eschrichtius robustus ( gray whale ) [REDACTED] B. physalus ( fin whale ) [REDACTED] Megaptera novaeangliae ( humpback whale ) [REDACTED] The fin whale
7812-489: The Southern Hemisphere. Calves remain with their mothers for about a year. Full physical maturity is attained between 25 and 30 years. Fin whales have a maximum life span of at least 94 years of age, although specimens have been found aged at an estimated 135–140 years. The fin whale is one of the fastest cetaceans and can sustain speeds between 37 km/h (23 mph) and 41 km/h (25 mph) and bursts up to 46 km/h (29 mph) have been recorded, earning
7936-490: The Tyrrhenian coastline of Italy was found to be infected with Morbillivirus and the protozoa Toxoplasma gondii , as well as carrying heavy loads of organochlorine pollutants . In the 19th century, the fin whale was occasionally hunted by open-boat whalers , but it was relatively safe, because it could easily outrun ships of the time and often sank when killed, making the pursuit a waste of time for whalers. However,
8060-628: The Wadden Sea to calve in the Mediterranean. A 2018 study utilizing ancient DNA barcoding and collagen peptide matrix fingerprinting confirmed that Roman era whale bones east of the Strait of Gibraltar were gray whales (and North Atlantic right whales ), confirming that gray whales once ranged into the Mediterranean. Similarly, radiocarbon dating of American east coastal subfossil remains confirm that gray whales existed there at least through
8184-506: The area. In June 2012, a pod of killer whales was seen in La Paz Bay, in the Gulf of California, chasing a fin whale for over an hour before finally killing it and feeding on its carcass. The whale bore numerous tooth rakes over its back and dorsal fin; several killer whales flanked it on either side, with one individual visible under water biting at its right lower jaw. In July 1908, a whaler reportedly saw two killer whales attack and kill
8308-611: The better documented historical catches show that it was common for whales to stay for months in enclosed waters elsewhere, with known records in the Seto Inland Sea and the Gulf of Tosa. Former feeding areas were once spread over large portions on mid-Honshu to northern Hokkaido, and at least whales were recorded for majority of annual seasons including wintering periods at least along east coasts of Korean Peninsula and Yamaguchi Prefecture . Some recent observations indicate that historic presences of resident whales are possible:
8432-570: The breeding season, it is common for females to have several mates. This single ovulation event is believed to coincide with the species' annual migration patterns, when births can occur in warmer waters. Most females show biennial reproduction, although annual births have been reported. Males also show seasonal changes, experiencing an increase in testes mass that correlates with the time females undergo oestrus. Currently there are no accounts of twin births, although an instance of twins in utero has been reported. The gestation period for gray whales
8556-412: The bulk of the population has arrived in the lagoons, filling them with nursing, calving and mating gray whales. Throughout February and March, the first to leave the lagoons are males and females without new calves. Pregnant females and nursing mothers with their newborns are the last to depart, leaving only when their calves are ready for the journey, which is usually from late March to mid-April. Often,
8680-493: The calving lagoons and bays on the west coast of Baja California Sur . The three most popular are San Ignacio , Magdalena Bay to the south, and, to the north, Laguna Ojo de Liebre (formerly known in English as Scammon's Lagoon after whaleman Charles Melville Scammon , who discovered the lagoons in the 1850s and hunted the grays). Gray whales once ranged into Sea of Cortez and Pacific coasts of continental Mexico south to
8804-1137: The coastal waters off British Columbia (a sighting occurred in Johnstone Strait in 2011 ) and Kodiak Island . Size of the local population migrating to Hawaiian Archipelago is unknown. Finbacks are also relatively abundant along the coast of Peru and Chile (in Chile, most notably off Los Lagos region such as Gulf of Corcovado in Chiloé National Park , Punta de Choros , port of Mejillones , and Caleta Zorra . Year-round confirmations indicate possible residents off pelagic north eastern to central Chile such as around coastal Caleta Chañaral and Pingüino de Humboldt National Reserve , east of Juan Fernández Islands , and northeast of Easter Island and possible wintering ground exist for eastern south Pacific population. Among Northern Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal , such as along Sri Lanka , India , and Malaysia , sightings and older records of fin whales exist. The only known predator of
8928-470: The difficulty in distinguishing fin whales from Bryde's whales . Extensive ship surveys have led researchers to conclude that the summer feeding range of fin whales in the western North Atlantic is mainly between 41°20'N and 51°00'N , from shore seaward to the 1,000 fathoms (6,000 ft; 1,800 m) contour. Summer distribution of fin whales in the North Pacific is the immediate offshore waters from central Baja California to Japan and as far north as
9052-966: The earliest descriptions of living Pacific gray whales, and notwithstanding that he was among the whalers who nearly drove them to extinction in the lagoons of the Baja California Peninsula , they were and still are associated with him and his description of the species. At this time, however, the extinct Atlantic population was considered a separate species ( Eschrischtius robustus ) from the living Pacific population ( Rhachianectes glaucus ). Things got increasingly confused as 19th century scientists introduced new species at an alarming rate (e.g. Eschrichtius pusillus , E. expansus , E. priscus , E. mysticetoides ), often based on fragmentary specimens, and taxonomists started to use several generic and specific names interchangeably and not always correctly (e.g. Agalephus gobbosus , Balaenoptera robustus , Agalephus gibbosus ). Things got even worse in
9176-486: The eastern and western coasts of Japan and along the Chinese coast. Gray whale had not been observed on Commander Islands until 2016. The northwestern pacific population consists of approximately 300 individuals, based on photo identification collected off of Sakhalin Island and Kamchatka. The Sea of Japan was once thought not to have been a migration route, until several entanglements were recorded. Any records of
9300-684: The eastern population. In mid-1980, there were three gray whale sightings in the eastern Beaufort Sea , placing them 585 kilometers (364 mi) further east than their known range at the time. Recent increases in sightings are confirmed in Arctic areas of the historic range for Atlantic stocks, most notably on several locations in the Laptev Sea including the New Siberian Islands in the East Siberian Sea , and around
9424-450: The environment on those days. Range expansions due to recoveries and re-colonization in the future is likely to happen and the predicted range covers wider than that of today. The gray whale undergoes the longest migration of any mammal. Each October, as the northern ice pushes southward, small groups of eastern gray whales in the eastern Pacific start a two- to three-month, 8,000–11,000 km (5,000–6,800 mi) trip south. Beginning in
9548-517: The fin whale has grooves between the tip of the lower jaw and the navel. Among whale species, the fin whale is exceeded in size only by the blue whale . Adults usually average 40 to 50 tonnes in weight. Males have a mean length of 21 m (69 ft), and females of 22 m (72 ft). They are sexually dimorphic , with females generally being longer and heavier than males. The largest specimens can attain lengths of over 26 m (85 ft) and weights of 77 to 81 tonnes. The fin whale
9672-489: The fin whale is the killer whale , with at least 20 eyewitness and second-hand accounts of attack or harassment. They usually flee and offer little resistance to attack. Only a few confirmed fatalities have occurred. In October 2005, 16 killer whales attacked and killed a fin whale in the Canal de Ballenas , Gulf of California , after chasing it for about an hour. They fed on its sinking carcass for about 15 minutes before leaving
9796-720: The fin whale the nickname "the greyhound of the sea". Fin whales are more gregarious than other rorquals, and often live in groups of 6–10, although feeding groups may reach up to 100 animals. Like other whales, males make long, loud, low- frequency sounds. The vocalizations of blue and fin whales are the lowest-frequency sounds made by any animal. Most sounds are frequency-modulated (FM) down-swept infrasonic pulses from 16 to 40 hertz frequency (the range of sounds that most humans can hear falls between 20 hertz and 20 kilohertz). Each sound lasts one to two seconds , and various sound combinations occur in patterned sequences lasting 7 to 15 minutes each. The whale then repeats
9920-757: The genera Euphausia and Thysanoessa ), as well as taking small amounts of amphipods (e.g. Themisto gaudichaudii ) and various species of fish. Of the more than 16,000 fin whales caught by the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Hemisphere between 1961 and 1965 that contained food in their stomachs, 99.4% fed on euphausiids, 0.5% on fish, and 0.1% on amphipods. In the Southern Ocean they mainly consume E. superba . The animal feeds by opening its jaws while swimming at some 11 km/h (6.8 mph) in one study, which causes it to engulf up to 70 m (18,000 US gal; 15,000 imp gal) of water in one gulp. It then closes its jaws and pushes
10044-444: The genus Neocalanus , small schooling fish (e.g. the genera Engraulis , Mallotus , Clupea , and Theragra ), and squid. Based on stomach content analysis of over 19,500 fin whales caught by the Japanese whaling fleet in the North Pacific from 1952 to 1971, 64.1% contained only krill, 25.5% copepods, 5.0% fish, 3.4% krill and copepods and 1.7% squid. Nemoto (1959) analyzed the stomach contents of about 7500 fin whales caught in
10168-626: The gray whale as Balaena gibbosa , the "whale with six bosses", apparently based on a brief note by Dudley 1725 : The Scrag Whale is near a kin to the Fin-back, but instead of a Fin upon his Back, the Ridge of the Afterpart of his Back is cragged with half a Dozen Knobs or Nuckles; he is nearest the right Whale in Figure and for Quantity of Oil; his Bone is white, but won't split. The gray whale
10292-402: The gray whale than they are to some other rorquals, such as the minke whales . The American Society of Mammalogists has followed this classification. John Edward Gray placed it in its own genus in 1865, naming it in honour of physician and zoologist Daniel Frederik Eschricht . The common name of the whale comes from its coloration. The subfossil remains of now extinct gray whales from
10416-457: The implication can be made that the feeding migration of fin whales every year in circumpolar waters can be associated with pathologic risk. An emaciated 13 m (43 ft) female fin whale, which stranded along the Belgian coast in 1997, was found to be infected with lesions of Morbillivirus . In January 2011, a 16.7 m (55 ft) emaciated adult male fin whale stranded dead on
10540-468: The larger eastern population. In January 2011, a gray whale that had been tagged in the western population was tracked as far east as the eastern population range off the coast of British Columbia. Recent findings from either stranded or entangled specimens indicate that the original western population have become functionally extinct, and possibly all the whales that have appeared on Japanese and Chinese coasts in modern times are vagrants or re-colonizers from
10664-548: The later introduction of steam-powered boats and harpoons that exploded on impact made it possible to kill and secure them along with blue and sei whales on an industrial scale. As other whale species became overhunted, the whaling industry turned to the still-abundant fin whale as a substitute. It was primarily hunted for its blubber, oil , and baleen. Around 704,000 fin whales were caught in Antarctic whaling operations alone between 1904 and 1975. The introduction of factory ships with stern slipways in 1925 substantially increased
10788-483: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Finback&oldid=1233099693 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Fin whale The fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus ), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual ,
10912-589: The marine mammal sanctuary of the Franz Josef Land , indicating possible earlier pioneers of re-colonizations. These whales were darker in body color than those whales seen in Sea of Okhotsk. In May 2010, a gray whale was sighted off the Mediterranean shore of Israel. It has been speculated that this whale crossed from the Pacific to the Atlantic via the Northwest Passage , since an alternative route around Cape Horn would not be contiguous to
11036-580: The most effort into conservation of the species among the Asian nations, there are no confirmed sightings along the Korean Peninsula or even in the Sea of Japan in recent years. The last confirmed record in Korean waters was the sighting of a pair off Bangeojin , Ulsan in 1977. Prior to this, the last was of catches of 5 animals off Ulsan in 1966. There was a possible sighting of a whale within
11160-477: The newborn from sharks and orcas . On 7 January 2014, a pair of newborn or aborted conjoined twin gray whale calves were found dead in the Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Scammon's Lagoon), off the west coast of Mexico. They were joined by their bellies. The whale feeds mainly on benthic crustaceans (such as amphipods and ghost shrimp ), which it eats by turning on its side and scooping up sediments from
11284-492: The northern North Pacific and Bering Sea from 1952 to 1958, found that they mainly preyed on euphausiids around the Aleutian Islands and in the Gulf of Alaska and schooling fish in the northern Bering Sea and off Kamchatka . Of the fin whale stomachs sampled off British Columbia between 1963 and 1967, euphausiids dominated the diet for four of the five years (82.3 to 100% of the diet), while copepods only formed
11408-596: The number of whales taken per year. By 1962–63, sei whale catches began to increase as fin whales became scarce. Coastal groups in northeast Asian waters, along with many other baleen species, were likely driven into serious perils or functional extinctions by industrial catches by Japan covering wide ranges of China and Korean EEZ within a very short period in the 20th century. After the cease of exploiting Asian stocks, Japan kept mass commercial and illegal hunts until 1975. Several thousand individuals were hunted from various stations mainly along coasts of Hokkaido, Sanriku, and
11532-520: The ocean floor and rolling on to their side, (like blue whales, gray whales seem to favor rolling onto their right side) and suck up prey from the sea floor. Gray whales seem to favor feeding planktonically in their feeding grounds, but benthically along their migration route in shallower water. Mostly, the animal feeds in the northern waters during the summer; and opportunistically feeds during its migration, depending primarily on its extensive fat reserves. Another reason for this opportunistic feeding may be
11656-483: The only sighting of this species in the Southern Hemisphere. Photographic identification suggests that this is a different individual than the one spotted in the Mediterranean in 2010. As of July 2013, the Namibian whale was still being seen regularly. In March 2021, a gray whale was sighted near Rabat , the capital of Morocco . In April, additional sightings were made off Algeria and Italy . In December 2023,
11780-423: The original eastern and western groups could have been much more distinct than previously thought, enough to be counted as subspecies. Since the original Asian and Atlantic populations have become extinct, it is difficult to determine the unique features among whales in these stocks. However, there have been observations of some whales showing distinctive, blackish body colors in recent years. This corresponds with
11904-409: The pair returned to the same coasts at the same time of the year in 2015 again. Reviewing on other cases on different locations among Japanese coasts and islands observed during 2015 indicate that spatial or seasonal residencies regardless of being temporal or permanental staying once occurred throughout many parts of Japan or on other coastal Asia. The current western gray whale population summers in
12028-576: The past 100 years, the dramatic increase in ocean noise from shipping and naval activity may have slowed the recovery of the fin whale population, by impeding communications between males and receptive females. Fin whale songs can penetrate over 2,500 m (8,200 ft) below the sea floor and seismologists can use those song waves to assist in underwater surveys. When feeding, fin whales blow five to seven times in quick succession, but while traveling or resting will blow once every minute or two. On their terminal (last) dive they arch their back high out of
12152-427: The population hit an all-time low in 2010, when no new reproductive females were recorded, resulting in a minimum of 26 reproductive females being observed since 1995. Even a very small number of additional annual female deaths will cause the subpopulation to decline. However, as of 2018, evidence has indicated that the western population is markedly increasing in number, especially off Sakhalin Island . Following this,
12276-676: The port of Samcheok in 2015. There had been 24 records along Chinese coasts including sighting, stranding, intended hunts, and bycatches since 1933. The last report of occurrence of the species in Chinese waters was of a stranded semi adult female in the Bohai Sea in 1996, and the only record in Chinese waters in the 21st century was of a fully-grown female being killed by entanglement in Pingtan , China in November, 2007. DNA studies indicated that this individual might have originated from
12400-452: The possibilities that the sounds were due to equipment malfunction, geophysical phenomena, or even part of a Soviet Union scheme for detecting enemy submarines. Eventually, biologists demonstrated that the sounds were the vocalizations of fin whales. Direct association of these vocalizations with the reproductive season for the species and that only males make the sounds point to these vocalizations as possible reproductive displays. Over
12524-426: The recent sightings of Pacific gray whales in the Atlantic, suggest that another range expansion to the Atlantic may be starting. Breeding behavior is complex and often involves three or more animals. Both male and female whales reach puberty between the ages of 6 and 12 with an average of eight to nine years. Females show highly synchronized reproduction, undergoing oestrus in late November to early December. During
12648-406: The result of population increases, resulting in the whales taking advantage of whatever prey is available, due to increased competition. Feeding areas during migration seem to include the Gulf of California, Monterey Bay and Baja California Sur. Calf gray whales drink 50–80 lb (23–36 kg) of their mothers' 53% fat milk per day. The main feeding habitat of the western Pacific subpopulation
12772-419: The scars and patches associated with parasites that have either fallen off or are still attached. They have two blowholes on top of their head, which can create a distinctive heart-shaped blow at the surface in calm wind conditions. Gray whales measure from 4.9 m (16 ft) in length for newborns to 13–15 m (43–49 ft) for adults (females tend to be slightly larger than adult males). Newborns are
12896-499: The sea floor. This unique feeding selection makes gray whales one of the most strongly reliant on coastal waters among baleen whales. It is classified as a baleen whale and has baleen , or whalebone, which acts like a sieve, to capture small sea animals, including amphipods taken in along with sand, water and other material. Off Vancouver Island, gray whales commonly feed on shrimp-like mysids . When mysids are abundant gray whales are present in fairly large numbers. Despite mysids being
13020-441: The sequences in bouts lasting up to many days. The vocal sequences have source levels of up to 184–186 decibels relative to 1 micropascal at a reference distance of one metre and can be detected hundreds of miles from their source. When fin whale sounds were first recorded by US biologists, they did not realize that these unusually loud, long, pure and regular sounds were being made by whales. They first investigated
13144-483: The smaller C. crassicauda infects the lower urinary tract . Out of 87 whales taken and necropsied from the North Atlantic, infection from Crassicauda boopis was found to be very prevalent and invasive, indicating high probability that it was responsible for causing death in these whales. C. boopis was found in 94% of the whales examined. The worms were usually enveloped by "exuberant tissue reactions which in some whales obstructed multiple renal veins". The parasite
13268-503: The southwestern end of the known range. It is unknown whether the whales' normal range once reached further south, to the Gulf of Tonkin . In addition, the existence of historical calving ground on Taiwan and Penghu Islands (with some fossil records and captures ), and any presence in other areas outside of the known ranges off Babuyan Islands in Philippines and coastal Vietnamese waters in Gulf of Tonkin are unknown. There
13392-582: The species had not been confirmed since after 1921 on Kyushu . However, there were numerous records of whales along the Genkai Sea off Yamaguchi Prefecture , in Ine Bay in the Gulf of Wakasa , and in Tsushima . Gray whales, along with other species such as right whales and Baird's beaked whales , were common features off the north eastern coast of Hokkaido near Teshio , Ishikari Bay near Otaru ,
13516-471: The species hunted by the early New England whalers, was almost certainly the gray whale. Since the 2010s, there have been occasional sightings of gray whales in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Mediterranean Sea , including one off the coast of Israel and one off the coast of Namibia . These were presumably migrants from the North Pacific population through the Arctic Ocean . A 2015 study of DNA from subfossil gray whales indicated that this may not be
13640-507: The summer, not making the farther trip to Alaskan waters. This summer resident group is known as the Pacific Coast feeding group. Any historical or current presence of similar groups of residents among the western population is currently unknown, however, whalers' logbooks and scientific observations indicate that possible year-round occurrences in Chinese waters and Yellow and Bohai basins were likely to be summering grounds. Some of
13764-417: The upper jaw each contain a lone stiff hair, but are only visible on close inspection. Its head's ventral surface lacks the numerous prominent furrows of the related rorquals, instead bearing two to five shallow furrows on the throat's underside. The gray whale also lacks a dorsal fin , instead bearing 6 to 12 dorsal crenulations ("knuckles"), which are raised bumps on the midline of its rear quarter, leading to
13888-559: The water back out of its mouth through its baleen , which allows the water to leave while trapping the prey. An adult has between 262 and 473 baleen plates on each side of the mouth. Each plate is made of keratin that frays out into fine hairs on the ends inside the mouth near the tongue. Each plate can measure up to 76 cm (30 in) in length and 30 cm (12 in) in width. The whale routinely dives to depths of more than 200 m (660 ft) where it executes an average of four "lunges", to accumulate krill. Each gulp provides
14012-400: The water, but rarely raise their flukes out of the water. They then dive to depths of up to 470 m (1,540 ft) when feeding or a few hundred feet when resting or traveling. The average feeding dive off California and Baja lasts 6 minutes, with a maximum of 17 minutes; when traveling or resting they usually dive for only a few minutes at a time. Like many large rorquals, the fin whale
14136-448: The waters off northernmost Alaska and Baja California Sur . Mothers make this journey accompanied by their calves, usually hugging the shore in shallow kelp beds, and fight viciously to protect their young if they are attacked, earning gray whales the moniker, devil fish. The western population has had a very slow growth rate despite heavy conservation action over the years, likely due to their very slow reproduction rate. The state of
14260-460: The whale with approximately 10 kg (22 lb) of food. One whale can consume up to 1,800 kg (4,000 lb) of food a day, leading scientists to conclude that the whale spends about three hours a day feeding to meet its energy requirements, roughly the same as humans. If prey patches are not sufficiently dense, or are located too deep in the water, the whale has to spend a larger portion of its day searching for food. One hunting technique
14384-569: The whale's established territory. There has been gradual melting and recession of Arctic sea ice with extreme loss in 2007 rendering the Northwest Passage "fully navigable". The same whale was sighted again on May 30, 2010, off the coast of Barcelona , Spain. In May 2013, a gray whale was sighted off Walvis Bay , Namibia. Scientists from the Namibian Dolphin Project confirmed the whale's identity and thus provides
14508-614: The whale's food sources are near high trophic upwelling areas. The total historical North Pacific population was estimated at 42,000 to 45,000 before the start of whaling. Of this, the population in the eastern portion of the North Pacific was estimated to be 25,000 to 27,000. Surveys conducted in 1991, 1993, 1996, and 2001 produced estimates between 1,600 and 3,200 off California and 280 and 380 off Oregon and Washington . Surveys in coastal waters of British Columbia in summers 2004 and 2005 produced abundance estimates of approximately 500 animals. Fin whales might have started returning to
14632-663: The whales visited the southern coasts of the Korean Peninsula, adjacent to the Island of Jeju ), Haiyang Island, the Gulf of Shanghai , or the Zhoushan Archipelago . There is no evidence of historical presence in Japan south of Ōsumi Peninsula ; only one skeleton has been discovered in Miyazaki Prefecture . Hideo Omura once considered the Seto Inland Sea to be a historical breeding ground, but only
14756-464: The winter. Fin whales are often observed in pods of 6–10 animals, with whom they communicate utilizing frequency-modulated sounds, ranging from 16 to 40 hertz. Like all other large whales, the fin whale was a prized kill during the "heyday" of whaling , from 1840 to 1861. It remained so into the 20th century but decades of over harvesting contributed to declining numbers through the late 20th century. Over 725,000 fin whales were reportedly taken from
14880-470: Was determined to be unidirectional from fin to blue whales. Despite their smaller size, fin whales have similar cruising and sprinting speeds to blue whales, which would allow fin males to complete courtship chases with blue females. The body is relatively thin with a slender rostrum and large hook-like dorsal fins that are situated in the upper fourth of the body. It has an elongated ridge on its back, and around 350 to 400 baleen plates . Like all rorquals,
15004-500: Was discovered and placed in the genus in 2017, the Akishima whale ( E. akishimaensis ). Some recent studies place gray whales as being outside the rorqual clade , but as the closest relatives to the rorquals. But other recent DNA analyses have suggested that certain rorquals of the family Balaenopteridae , such as the humpback whale , Megaptera novaeangliae , and fin whale , Balaenoptera physalus , are more closely related to
15128-411: Was first described as a distinct species by Lilljeborg 1861 based on a subfossil found in the brackish Baltic Sea , apparently a specimen from the now extinct north Atlantic population. Lilljeborg, however, identified it as " Balaenoptera robusta ", a species of rorqual . Gray 1864 realized that the rib and scapula of the specimen was different from those of any known rorquals, and therefore erected
15252-417: Was first described by Friderich Martens in 1675 and by Paul Dudley in 1725. The former description was used as the primary basis for the species Balaena physalus by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. In 1804, Bernard Germain de Lacépède reclassified the species as Balaenoptera rorqual , based on a specimen that had stranded on Île Sainte-Marguerite ( Cannes , France) in 1798. In 1830, Louis Companyo described
15376-411: Was most likely by environmental contamination, involving shedding of larvae in urine. Major inflammatory lesions in the mesenteric arteries suggested that the worm larvae were ingested and migrated to the kidney. These observations suggest that infection from C. boopis can be "lethal by inducing congestive renal failure". Injury to the vascular system is also a result of moderate infections. Therefore,
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