# Fin whale (*Balaenoptera physalus*)

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

It is a giant, marine, diurnal animal with an adult body mass of 70 tonnes, and its diet category is invertivore. The IUCN Red List classifies the fin whale as Vulnerable (VU), a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 95 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 38.8 t – 70 t |
| Length | up to 27.3 m |
| Lifespan | 95 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 116 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 342 days – 353 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 4.49 years – 6.33 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.4 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

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

Synonyms: *Balaena antipodarum*, *Balaena maximus borealis*, *Balaena mysticetus major*, *Balaena physalis*, *Balaena physalus*, *Balaena rostrata australis*, *Balaena sulcata*, *Balaenoptera antarctica*, *Balaenoptera aragous*, *Balaenoptera australis*, *Balaenoptera blythii*, *Balaenoptera brasiliensis*, *Balaenoptera mediterraneensis*, *Balaenoptera mediterranensis*, *Balaenoptera musculus*, *Balaenoptera patachonica*, *Balaenoptera patagonica*, *Balaenoptera quoyii*, *Balaenoptera rorqual*, *Balaenoptera sulcata*, *Balaenoptera sulcata arctica*, *Balaenoptera swinhoii*, *Balaenoptera swinhoii*, *Balaenoptera tenuirostris*, *Balaenoptera velifera copei*, *Balaenopteris guibusdam*, *Benedenia knoxii*, *Dubertus rhodinsulensis*, *Physalis vulgaris*, *Physalus antarcticus*, *Physalus australis*, *Physalus brasiliensis*, *Physalus dugundii*, *Physalus fasciatus*, *Physalus verus*, *Pterobalaena communis*, *Pterobalaena gigantea*, *Pterobalaena gigantea michrochira*, *Rorqualus musculus*, *Sibbaldius tectirostris*, *Sibbaldius tuberosus*, *Sibbalius veliferus*, *Swinhoia chinensis*

## Common questions

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

The fin whale is a mammal in the whales and dolphins group. It belongs to the order Cetacea, suborder Mysticeti and family Balaenopteridae.

### How heavy is a fin whale?

An adult Fin whale has a body mass of 70 tonnes, which places it in the giant size class.

### What does the fin whale eat?

The fin whale is an invertivore, and its trophic level is carnivore.

### Is the fin whale endangered?

The fin whale is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.

### How long does a fin whale live?

The fin whale's lifespan is given as 95 years, with values up to 116 years reported.

### How many young does a fin whale have?

A fin whale has 1 young per litter, with 0.4 litters per year and a gestation period of 342 days.

### When does a fin whale reach sexual maturity?

A fin whale reaches sexual maturity at 6.2 years, with reported values from 4.5 to 6.3 years.

### Who named the fin whale?

The fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/fin-whale