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Balaena mysticetus (bowhead whale)

Mammalia - Cetacea - Balaenidae

Taxonomy
Balaena mysticetus was named by Linnaeus (1758) [No type specimen designated, no type locality (Linnaeus, 1758). ]. It is extant. It is the type species of Balaena.

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus p. 75
1762Balaena vulgaris Brisson p. 218
1804Balaena mysticetus Lacépède p. 1
1842Balaena mysticetus De Kay p. 124
1846Balaena mysticetus Gray p. 15
1847Balaena prisca Nilsson
1847Balaena mysticetus Nilsson p. 642
1850Balaena mysticetus Gray p. 12
1864Balaena mysticetus Gray p. 199
1865Balaena mysticetus Flower p. 394
1866Balaena mysticetus Gray p. 81
1868Balaena mysticetus Gray p. 1
1869Balaena mysticetus Scammon and Cope p. 15
1887Balaena mysticetus Lydekker p. 16
1902Balaena mysticetus Hay p. 601
1904Balaena mysticetus Trouessart p. 787
1911Balaena mysticetus Thomas p. 155
1912Balaena mysticetus Turner p. 21
1966Balaena mysticetus Hershkovitz p. 193
1998Balaena mysticetus Rice p. 64
2003Balaena mysticetus Bisconti p. 15
2005Balaena mysticetus Mead and Brownell p. 723
2006Balaena mysticetus Bouetel and Muizon p. 387
2008Balaena mysticetus Agnarsson and May-Collado p. 981 figs. Fig. 5
2008Balaena mysticetus Uhen et al. p. 618
2009Balaena mysticetus Bisconti p. 153
2011Balaena mysticetus Marx p. 83 figs. Figure 2
2014Balaena mysticetus Tsai et al. p. 87
2015Balaena mysticetus Gol'din and Steeman p. 13 figs. Figure 10
2015Balaena mysticetus Marx and Fordyce p. 4 figs. Figure 2

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
suborderEupelycosauria
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
RankNameAuthor
—Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
—Theriiformes()
—Trechnotheria
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Euungulata
—Artiodactylamorpha
—Artiodactyla
—Whippomorpha
orderCetacea
—Pelagiceti
—Neoceti
suborderMysticeti
—Chaeomysticeti()
familyBalaenidae()
genusBalaena
speciesmysticetus

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus 1758 [bowhead whale]
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Invalid names: Balaena prisca Nilsson 1847 [synonym], Balaena vulgaris Brisson 1762 [synonym]
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Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: hydroxyapatitesubo
Form: roller-shapedo
Ontogeny: modification of partso
Environment: marinesubo
Locomotion: actively mobileo
Life habit: aquaticsubo
Depth habitat: surfaceo
Diet: suspension feederf
Reproduction: viviparouso
Created: 2005-06-08 10:11:09
Modified: 2005-06-08 12:11:09
Source: f = family, subo = suborder, o = order
References: Nowak 1991, Uhen 2004

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Late/Upper Pleistocene to the top of the Holocene or 0.12600 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 0.0117 Ma

Collections (104 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Sweden Balaena mysticetus (159732)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Denmark Balaena mysticetus (159733)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Sweden (Bohuslan) Balaena mysticetus (140009)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Canada (Newfoundland) Balaena mysticetus (70839 197058)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Norway Balaena mysticetus (73689)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Sweden Balaena mysticetus (73755 81821)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Greenland (Jameson Land) Balaena mysticetus (107726)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117USA (South Carolina) Balaena mysticetus (188304)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Canada (Yukon) Balaena mysticetus (73692 73693)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Canada (Ontario) Balaena mysticetus (51022)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Canada (Nunavut) Balaena mysticetus (73697 81838 90878)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Canada (Northwest Territories) Balaena mysticetus (73726)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Denmark Balaena mysticetus (76052 76057 96118 96119 96122 96124 96125 159731) Balaena sp. (76054 76058) Cetacea indet. (76053)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.126 - 0.0117Greenland Balaena mysticetus (107727)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Svalbard and Jan Mayen Balaena mysticetus (162116)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Germany Balaena mysticetus (159717)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Alaska) Balaena mysticetus (167954 175950 175951)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Nunavut) Balaena mysticetus (73708 73711 73712 73713 73714 90167 160836 160837 160838 160839 160840 160841 160842 160843 160844 160845 160846 160848 160849 160850 160851 160852 160853 162011 162015 162016 228756 228928 229645 229646)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Greenland Balaena mysticetus (160067 160080 160081 160082 160083 160084 160085 160086 160087 160088 160089 162641 229885 229939 229940 229942 230120)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Labrador) Balaena mysticetus (224252)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Ontario) Balaena mysticetus (160847)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Denmark Balaena mysticetus (159706 159715 159716 159722 159723 159724)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Denmark (Greenland) Balaena mysticetus (84373)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Norway Balaena mysticetus (81839)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Newfoundland) Balaena mysticetus (228844)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Sweden Balaena mysticetus (186597) Balaena prisca (87147)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Northwest Territories) Balaena mysticetus (228921 228925 228926)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Yukon) Balaena mysticetus (228443)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (New York) Balaena mysticetus (221770)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Norway (Sptisbergen) Balaena mysticetus (71000)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Russian Federation Balaena mysticetus (167955 198900)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Quebec) Balaena mysticetus (221904 228861)