#0120 · 🦊 mammals

Blue Whale

🇳🇱 Blauwe Vinvis ·Balaenoptera musculus

ENendangered 🦊 Mammals 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © azure27014 · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © David Slater · CC BY 4.0
3. © Robin Gwen Agarwal · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. Magallanes, CL-MA, CL:© Pablo Gutiérrez Maier · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. TL:© steve3rivers · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. Kaikoura, NZ-CA, NZ:© harrymurphy28 · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. 東部省, LK:© azure27014 · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Kaikoura, NZ-CA, NZ:© Darren Creighton · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Chile:© Alejandro Díaz · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Chubut, AR:© Tomás Tamagno · CC BY 4.0

what is it?

The blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). 9 metres (98 ft) in length and with a maximum recorded weight of 173 tonnes (190 short tons) and probably reaching over 181 tonnes (200 short tons), it is the largest animal known to have ever existed.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 2,558iNaturalist observations
length 27.1 madult, up to
threat ENendangered

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
2,558 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Up to 27.1 m long: 15.1× a tall person.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.