# Blue whale (*Balaenoptera musculus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-whale  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a species in the family Balaenopteridae, order Cetacea. Recorded adults reach 27.1 m in length. It has been recorded in 57 countries, most often in Antarctica, United States and Mexico. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | 27.1 m |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Euphausiacea |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 350 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Recorded in | 57 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Cetacea
- family: Balaenopteridae
- genus: Balaenoptera
- species: *Balaenoptera musculus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Balaena borealis*, *Balaena maximus*, *Balaena musculus*, *Balaenoptera brevicauda*, *Balaenoptera carolinae*, *Balaenoptera gigas*, *Balaenoptera indica*, *Balaenoptera jubartes*, *Balaenoptera miramaris*, *Balaenoptera sulfurea*, *Cuvierius latirostris*, *Physalus boops*, *Physalus indicus*, *Physalus latirostris*, *Pterobalaena gigas*, *Pterobalaena grypus*, *Rorqualus boops*, *Rorqualus musculus*, *Sibbaldius antarcticus*, *Sibbaldius borealis*, *Sibbaldius musculus*, *Sibbaldius sulfureus*, *Sibbaldus borealis*, *Sibbaldus musculus*, *Stenobalaena xanthogaster*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

Antarctica (5050), United States (4546), Mexico (1926), South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands (1892), Canada (1095), Australia (699), Portugal (478), Iceland (467), Norway (241), Svalbard & Jan Mayen (239), Greenland (143), New Zealand (93), United Kingdom (78), Faroe Islands (70), French Southern Territories (62), Chile (55), Sri Lanka (55), Ecuador (35), St. Pierre & Miquelon (30), Spain (28), Argentina (26), Ireland (25), France (23), India (23), Japan (11), Sweden (10), Denmark (9), Indonesia (8), Netherlands (8), French Guiana (7), New Caledonia (7), Peru (6), Brazil (4), South Africa (4), Morocco (3), French Polynesia (3), Germany (2), Finland (2), Falkland Islands (2), Maldives (2), Timor-Leste (2), Uruguay (2), Bangladesh (1), Costa Rica (1), Western Sahara (1), Georgia (1), Guadeloupe (1), Guatemala (1), Guam (1), Israel (1), Kuwait (1), Myanmar (Burma) (1), Panama (1), Pakistan (1), Poland (1), Seychelles (1), Vietnam (1)

## Common questions

### How big is the blue whale?

An adult blue whale measures 27.1 m long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the blue whale live?

The blue whale has openly licensed sighting records from 57 countries on GBIF. The most records come from Antarctica, United States, Mexico, South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands and Canada. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### Is the blue whale endangered?

The blue whale is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

### What does the blue whale eat?

Its recorded main food is Euphausiacea.

### How long is the blue whale pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 350 days.

### What kind of animal is the blue whale?

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) belongs to the family Balaenopteridae in the order Cetacea.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/blue-whale