The common minke whale, also called the northern minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), is a baleen whale and the smallest of the rorquals, and the second smallest species of baleen whale. It has a disjointed distribution, ranging in the western and central North Pacific from Hawaii and the Mariana Islands north to the Bering and Chukchi Seas, and it also lives in the North Atlantic. Small schooling fish and krill are major food items in the North Pacific, while in the North Atlantic the whales eat small schooling fish, demersal fish and krill. Both sexes can live to about 50 years. The species is hunted: Japanese research programmes alone took up to 100 whales a year in the North Pacific. The IUCN lists the common minke whale as least concern, it is on Appendix I of CITES, and a 2021 estimate suggests up to 150,000 individuals in Norwegian waters.
Facts
Classification
Population Trend System (Realm) ThreatsBiological Resource Use 2 Relationship to People Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Activity Pattern Comparison
NatureServe Rank CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Common minke whale (Wikipedia)
In Biome
In Ecosystem
Source Common minke whale (Wikipedia)
Source Common minke whale (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Common minke whale (Wikipedia)Distribution, PacificQuote, Distribution, Pacific
In the western and central North Pacific, they range from Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the East China Sea
Sources
1. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Balaenoptera acutorostrata (common name: common minke whale)
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyForaging Behavior
Foraging Behavior filter-feeding
Conservation Status
Numbers have also been on the rise since
View the Source 2. Common minke whale (Wikipedia)
Distribution, living
In the western and central North Pacific, they range from Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the East China Sea
Description, lifespan
Both sexes can live to about 50 years of age
Hunting, JARPN catches, threat
up to 100 whales were caught each year
Distribution, Pacific
In the western and central North Pacific, they range from Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the East China Sea
Distribution, realm
In the western and central North Pacific, they range from Hawaii, the Mariana Islands, the East China Sea
In Group: Cetaceans (Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises), Lead
is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales
Child Taxon Of: Balaenopteridae, Lead, rorqual
It is the smallest species of the rorquals
In Ecosystem: Svalbard, Distribution, North Atlantic
as far north as Baffin Bay, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, and Novaya Zemlya
In Ecosystem: Gulf of California, Distribution, North Pacific
down to Baja California and into the Gulf of California
View the Source3. NatureServe: NatureServe Explorer: Balaenoptera acutorostrata
NatureServeGlobal rank (roundedGRank)Quote, Global rank (roundedGRank)
"roundedGRank": "G5"
4. SeaLifeBase: Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Common minke whale
SeaLifeBaseIUCN Red List Status
Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 16 March 2018
CITES status
Appendix I: International trade banned
View the Source 5. Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014): EltonTraits 1.0 mammal diet data
Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014)Row Balaenoptera acutorostrata, columns Activity-Nocturnal, Activity-Crepuscular, Activity-Diurnal
Balaenoptera acutorostrata Balaenopteridae 70 0 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC M A 0 0 1 Ref_1
Row Balaenoptera acutorostrata, column BodyMass-Value (10000000 g)
5340 Balaenoptera acutorostrata Balaenopteridae 70 0 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC M A 0 0 1 Ref_1 ABC 10000000
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