Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus): species, photos, interesting facts

17 January112683aquatic inhabitantswhaleslarge

The blue whale or blue whale is a marine animal that is a member of the cetacean order. The blue whale belongs to the baleen whales of the genus minke whales. The blue whale is the largest whale on the planet. In this article you will find a description and photo of a blue whale, you will learn a lot of new and interesting things about the life of this huge and amazing animal.

Description of the blue whale

The blue whale is the largest of all cetaceans and the largest animal on the planet.
Its dimensions are really huge. The largest recorded female was 33.58 meters long and weighed over 150 tons. The maximum known length for a male was 31 meters. The average size of males in the north is 22.8 m, females - 23.5 m, the inhabitants of the south are on average 1 meter larger. — Advertising —

The color of the blue whale is monotonous. The skin is gray with a blue tint, the head and lower jaw are darker, the back, sides and belly are lighter. On the body there are gray spots of various sizes and shapes, and the body looks like “marble”. When viewed through the water, the whale's coloration appears blue, which is how it gets its name.

The body is elongated and slender. The head is large, with a sharp snout, flattened. The lower jaw is wide. There are tactile hairs on the muzzle. The eyes are small, in the corners of the mouth. The fin on the back is small, sharp, triangular in shape. Its rear edge is covered with characteristic scratches. The fins on the chest of a blue whale are elongated and narrow. The width of the caudal fin is 7.6 m.

When exhaling, the blue whale releases a vertical fountain of water like a narrow, expanding upward cone or column 9-10 m high.

Sperm whale

The sperm whale is a type of toothed whale. It differs from its larger relatives in external features: a huge, compressed and pointed head on the sides, a mouth with unevenly growing teeth (3 pairs of teeth up to a kilogram of weight on top, 26 pairs on the bottom).

The sperm whale lives throughout the world's oceans except polar waters. Typically its length is 19 meters, but cases of maximum length have been recorded, measuring 21 meters and weighing almost 50 tons.

Sperm whales themselves are slow and reach speeds on average of 8-9 kilometers per hour, but at the same time they are very aggressive and often throw boats and small vessels with their heads.

These predators feed mainly on shellfish and fish, and even stingrays, seals, baby sharks, and turtles, swallowing their prey whole. Sperm whales hunt alone at great depths of up to 3 thousand meters, and at the same time they are able to hold their breath for up to an hour and a half.

The strongest representatives of sperm whales fight fiercely for a place at the head of the pack and during the mating season. One sperm whale is capable of mating with 10-15 females.

Hunting for sperm whales is very dangerous. When enraged, they can sink whaling ships; several such cases have been recorded.

Dietary features of the blue whale

The blue whale is a plankton eater, and feeds in the same way as other minke whales; it eats small crustaceans from the order euphausiaceae - krill.
In each specific habitat region, 1-2 species of crustaceans predominate. Fish is practically not found in the diet of the blue whale or is swallowed accidentally. — Advertising —

While feeding, the blue whale swims slowly, opens its mouth and takes in water with small crustaceans. It then closes its mouth and squeezes out the water using its tongue through the whalebone. Plankton settles on the fringe and is swallowed. When stretched, the stripes on the throat greatly enlarge the whale's mouth.

The amount of food required for such a giant is also impressive: per day, a blue whale eats 4-8 tons of krill, about 40,000,000 individual crustaceans. This amounts to 3-4% of the animal's body weight. Its stomach holds about a ton of food.

Whales that come to feed in the Southern Hemisphere are generally thin, but they gain weight quickly. The feeding period is 120 days.

Maria Telnaya

Ukrainian Maria Telnaya was born in Kharkov in 1991. The family lived modestly and adhered to patriarchal views. As a child, the girl looked like a little fairy with her huge eyes, passed down to her from her father. And at the age of 12 she developed a beautiful, graceful figure. However, she didn’t even think about the modeling profession and was going to become an economist.

However, at the age of 16, fate decided in its own way - the director of a modeling agency noticed the beauty and offered to try her hand at it. After the first photo shoot, it became clear that Maria was born for the modeling business, possessing not only outstanding external data, but also natural photogenicity.

Since then, Telnaya's career has only gone up. She traveled half the world, got married and gave birth to a child, which did not harm her figure at all. The unique appearance of the Ukrainian woman attracts the attention of fashion designers from all over the world. Now she is engaged in a joint project with the Tamani Fashion Group company, and also works as a teacher.

Common Blue Whale Species

Three subspecies are known for the blue whale:

Northern (Balaenoptera musculus musculus) - considered the type, since it was first described.

The southern one (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) is the most numerous, differs from the northern one in its larger size, but otherwise, in appearance, both of these subspecies are practically indistinguishable from each other.

Dwarf (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) or blue pygmy whale. A population of 10,000 individuals was discovered in the mid-20th century in the Indian Ocean and described as an independent subspecies. The average length of the pygmy blue whale is only 3 meters less than other subspecies. They are lighter in color and have a smaller tail fin. The body is thickened, teardrop-shaped, the whalebone is shorter.

Blue whale behavior

The blue whale prefers to lead a solitary lifestyle, does not form a herd, and occasionally occurs in groups of 2-3 individuals.
Only where there is a lot of food for the animal can it form a large aggregation of 50-60 individuals, but it will remain scattered. Compared to other cetaceans, the blue whale is slower and clumsier. He leads a diurnal lifestyle, but at night he practically does not move. Dives deeply, up to 500 m. The average dive depth is 100-200 m, they last up to 20 minutes. The diving itself occurs slowly; it takes the whale approximately 8 minutes to dive to 140 m and then emerge. After surfacing, the whale breathes frequently and releases fountains. Repeated diving occurs after 10 minutes. Overall, the whale spends about 94% of its time underwater.

At short distances, the blue whale reaches speeds of up to 37 km/h, the maximum speed is 48 km/h, but the animal cannot swim like that for long. During feeding, the speed of the blue whale is 2-6 km/h.

sei whale

Sei whale belongs to the family of minke baleen whales. The light-colored, large whale with a pointed muzzle, a powerful dorsal fin and a smooth, spotted back from wounds and exposure to parasites has an average length of up to 17 meters, but there are individuals measuring 21.3 meters. A white whale weighs 30 tons.

Sei whales are very agile and can reach speeds of up to 25 km/h. They live in all oceans except equatorial and Antarctic waters.

Their diet is based on mollusks, crustaceans and fish; when hunting, they dive to a depth of 300 meters. These mammals are long-lived, on average they live up to 75 years. Females are usually larger than males and are capable of giving birth every year.

In the last century, after the ban on hunting some species of whales, sei whales became a central object of interest for whalers. Currently, hunting for these animals is prohibited and the population is gradually recovering. Now there are about 20 thousand individuals on Earth.

Blue whale breeding

The blue whale is a monogamous animal.
They form a pair for a long time, and the male and female are always nearby. The blue whale reproduces very slowly. Childbirth occurs every two years. The duration of pregnancy is 10-12 months. Usually one calf is born with a body length of 6-8.8 m and a weight of 2-3 tons. The birth of twins occurs in 1 case out of 100. Milk feeding lasts approximately 7 months. The baby whale grows up to 16 m, and its weight during this period reaches 23 tons. The calf receives 90 liters of milk per day. Milk is very fat (up to 50%) and rich in protein. The blue whale reaches sexual maturity at the age of 5-15 years.

Interestingly, the blue whale's birth rate rose sharply in the 1930s, when fishing and harvesting reached its peak. Perhaps this was the animal’s reaction to this process. And in the 1940s, when whaling was practically stopped due to the war, the birth rate, on the contrary, decreased.

Fin whale

The fin whale or herring whale, a member of the minke whale, is the second largest animal on Earth. A long elongated body, a mouth with 360 white or pink plates, two characteristic respiratory channels on the back, thick skin unevenly covered with spots are the distinctive features of the fin whale.

The underwater world is diverse! Read on our website what other largest fish, besides whales, live in the depths.

Distributed in all oceans. There are 3 subspecies: North Pacific, Arctic and North Atlantic, which do not mix with each other. Fin whales reach 27 meters in length, weigh up to 70 tons, and have a maximum speed of up to 50 km/h.

Fin whales hunt for plankton, fish, and krill, while diving to a depth of 230 meters and not breathing for up to half an hour. Fin whales often move alone, but sometimes in groups of up to 6 individuals. Females perform an excellent reproductive function, giving birth every year, but the cubs often become prey for sharks and killer whales.

In the middle of the last century, fin whales were practically destroyed by humans, but since 1982, hunting them was officially prohibited. Now the population of the species is 55 thousand individuals, and they are on the verge of extinction.

Natural enemies of the blue whale

Natural enemies for the blue whale are unknown due to its gigantic size.
Occasionally, killer whales attack young individuals; only a flock of 5 to 30 individuals is capable of attacking and tearing apart a young whale. In the 20th century, the population began to decline sharply due to uncontrolled fishing. It is possible to obtain much more fat and meat from a single blue whale than from other species, and therefore it was a very popular fishery. Due to this, by the 1960s the species was almost exterminated and was on the verge of extinction. After measures were taken to protect the animal, it was possible to increase the population from 5,000 to 10,000 individuals, but protective measures still remain relevant today. The main threat to the blue whale is anthropogenic influence, which is expressed in disruption of the animal’s lifestyle and ocean pollution. In addition, the natural reproduction of the species is very slow, and rapid population growth is impossible for this reason.

Insects

Among all animals, insects have the largest eyes in the world. This especially applies to species whose eyes are compounded - that is, they consist of many lens-facets located close to each other. The facets provide refraction of light, making the organs of vision very sensitive.

Some insects have a simpler visual mechanism. Outside the eye is the cornea, and underneath it is an apparatus that perceives light, which includes retinal cells, and even deeper there are pigment cells directly connected to the optic nerves.

Finally, there is a third category - larval eyes, or stemmas. According to the name, they are present only in larvae that have not yet developed into adult insects. They can see, but very weakly, so the larva usually has quite a lot of them. The study of insect vision is not yet one hundred percent complete, although many scientific works have been devoted to it.

Interesting facts about the blue whale:

Determining the exact weight of a blue whale is a very difficult task, since whaling ships do not have the necessary equipment to weigh huge carcasses. They are usually weighed in parts. According to one opinion, the blue whale has become somewhat smaller in recent years due to predatory fishing; their average length is now about 30 m, and previously specimens of 35-37 meters were much more common.
Scientists associate the large size of the blue whale with the uneven distribution of food in the oceans. Due to its large body volume, the animal is able to swallow a lot of food if there is plenty of it around, but it can also survive for a long time in conditions of food shortage. The fat that the blue whale fattens to feed allows it to remain without food for several months.

Animal protection

In any essay or message about a whale, it is worth talking about what measures have been taken to protect the species. The animals are listed in the Red Book, and a ban on their catch has been introduced. For now, more effective measures are impossible, since mammals live at depths where it is difficult for humans to reach.

But many states have already legislatively reduced the size of the nets used to catch seafood. Thanks to this, whales suffer fewer injuries. And also in most countries it is recommended to reduce the speed of ships when they sail in areas where vomit whales live.

Blue whales continue to interest researchers, especially their system of exchanging signals with their relatives. Although not only echolocation is considered unique, but also the size of mammals, as well as their fidelity to partners.

Kim Goodman

US resident Kim Goodman also deserves to be included in this rating. Normally, her eyes are a completely normal size. However, as soon as she makes an effort and bulges them, they immediately protrude 12 mm forward. This makes a rather frightening impression. Goodman is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the owner of the most bulging eyes.

It is curious that the American discovered this property of her eyes by pure chance. When she was playing hockey with a mask on her face, she was accidentally hit on the head. Then she literally felt her eyes bulging out of her head. And over time, I learned to induce such a state at will.

However, sometimes the eyes bulge completely unexpectedly - for example, when a woman yawns. This is strange, because when ordinary people yawn, their eyes, on the contrary, close on their own. You can compare the appearance of a woman at such moments with some cartoon character who is very scared.

Nature is amazing, it constantly creates things that are difficult to imagine even with a rich imagination. The largest eyes in the world are simply mesmerizing; it’s hard to believe that such eyes actually exist.

Elijah Wood

The actor, best known for his role as Frodo from The Lord of the Rings, was born in 1981. It's safe to say that this is his most successful role. It's amazing how well this short actor with huge blue eyes fit into the science fiction film. Despite the fact that he turns 36 in 2022, he looks at most 20, giving rise to a lot of jokes about owning a magic ring.

Elijah Wood began acting as a child in the 90s and quickly built his career. The actor is distinguished by his amazing charisma, which allowed him to prevail over his competitors in many auditions. His eternally youthful appearance also plays into his hands - even now he is invited to play teenagers.

In an interview, Elijah admitted that the thriller genre is closest to him, so among other roles in his piggy bank there are even maniacs. He also pays attention to television; for several years now he has been starring in the multi-part show “Wilfred.” Among the actor's hobbies is primarily music. He plays the piano, collects vinyl records, and founded a recording studio.