Details
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Common minke whale is a mammal associated with open ocean and coasts. It is a filter feeder and usually solitary. It remains widespread in parts of its range, but local habitat change still matters.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Its range is represented here by the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic Ocean, where it uses open ocean and coasts. Mobile species may shift habitat use with season, breeding sites, or food availability.
Typical length 700-1000 cm, weight 5 t-10 t. It has a streamlined cetacean body plan, with proportions shaped by its habitat and mode of movement.
It is seasonal in movement or activity and usually solitary. Spacing, group size, and visibility can change with season, feeding conditions, and breeding activity.
It is a filter feeder. Food choice and foraging style are tied to life in open ocean and coasts, so movements often follow available food resources.
As a mammal, it gives birth to live young, and the mother nurses them in cover or within the social group.
Recorded scientifically as Balaenoptera acutorostrata. It remains widespread in parts of its range, but local habitat change still matters. In this guide, size, habitat, and activity pattern are useful first clues for recognition.
