← Back

Pygmy Blue Whale

Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda

Classification

Order
Cetacea

The pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda) is a subspecies of the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) found in the Indian Ocean and the Southern Pacific Ocean. Taxonomy The pygmy blue whale formed from a founder group of Antarctic blue whales about 20,000 years ago, around the Last Glacial Maximum. This is likely because blue whales were driven north by expanding ice, and some have stayed there ever since.

Distribution

(c) Emily Roberts, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Emily Roberts · CC-BY
Loading map…
Countries in the Picchu catalog
Chile · 1