Species: Balaenoptera musculus
Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
A very large (the largest living animal) baleen whale; body is mottled bluish gray; head is flat in front of the paired nostrils, broad and nearly U-shaped in dorsal view, with a single median ridge that extends forward from the raised area in front of the nostrils (ridge does not quite reach tip of snout); dorsal fin, located in the last quarter of the back, is very small; throat has 55-68 longitudinal grooves; belly may appear yellowish due to diatom accumulations; flipper are long and slim; baleen is black; potential maximum length is over 30 m, with the largest females averaging slightly longer than the largest males (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).
Source: Encyclopedia of Life
Classification
Mammalia
Cetacea
Balaenopteridae
Balaenoptera
NatureServe
Classification
Ecology and Life History
A very large (the largest living animal) baleen whale; body is mottled bluish gray; head is flat in front of the paired nostrils, broad and nearly U-shaped in dorsal view, with a single median ridge that extends forward from the raised area in front of the nostrils (ridge does not quite reach tip of snout); dorsal fin, located in the last quarter of the back, is very small; throat has 55-68 longitudinal grooves; belly may appear yellowish due to diatom accumulations; flipper are long and slim; baleen is black; potential maximum length is over 30 m, with the largest females averaging slightly longer than the largest males (Leatherwood and Reeves 1983).
Source: Encyclopedia of Life

