Balaenoptera musculus ssp. brevicauda

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA MAMMALIA CETARTIODACTYLA BALAENOPTERIDAE

Scientific Name: Balaenoptera musculus ssp. brevicauda
Species Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758)
Infra-specific Authority: Ichihara, 1966
Common Name/s:
English – Pygmy Blue Whale

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Data Deficient     ver 2.3
Year Assessed: 1996
Annotations:
Needs updating
Assessor/s Cetacean Specialist Group
Justification:
Extract from Reeves et al. (2003, p. 36): "...the Pygmy Blue Whale, centered in the Sub-Antarctic Zone of the Indian Ocean between 0º and 80ºE, was listed as Data Deficient because of uncertainty about its taxonomic status and abundance. Of particular concern in this assessment was that more than 8,000 Pygmy Blue Whales had been taken illegally by Soviet whalers in the 1960s and 1970s (Clapham et al. 1999)."

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: Centered in the Sub-Antarctic Zone of the Indian Ocean between 0°E and 80°E, especially around Prince Edward Island, and the islands of Crozet and Kerguelen. May also range westwards into the southeastern South Atlantic and eastwards into the Tasman Sea. A population along the coast of Chile may also be this species. The winter range is virtually unknown, with scattered records from South Africa and Australia (Rice 1998).
Countries:
Native:
Australia (Tasmania, Western Australia); Canada (Prince Edward I.); French Southern Territories (the) (Crozet Is., Kerguelen)
Presence uncertain:
Chile
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
Native:
Atlantic – southwest;  Atlantic – southeast;  Atlantic – Antarctic;  Indian Ocean – western;  Indian Ocean – Antarctic;  Indian Ocean – eastern;  Pacific – southwest;  Pacific – Antarctic;  Pacific – southeast

Population [top]

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Systems: Marine

Threats [top]

Conservation Actions [top]

Citation: Cetacean Specialist Group 1996. Balaenoptera musculus ssp. brevicauda. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 02 December 2008.
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