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Home/Species/ Common Minke Whale

Balaenoptera acutorostrata

Lacepède, 1804

Common Minke Whale

G5Secure Found in 4 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.792167
Element CodeAMAGH01030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix I
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetacea
FamilyBalaenopteridae
GenusBalaenoptera
COSEWICPS:NAR
Other Common Names
Lesser Rorqual (EN) Little Piked Whale (EN) Minke Whale (EN) North Atlantic Minke Whale (EN) Northern Minke Whale (EN) North Pacific Minke Whale (EN) Petit rorqual (FR) Rorcual Enano (ES) Sharp-headed Finner Whale (EN)
Concept Reference
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Third edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Two volumes. 2,142 pp. [As modified by ASM the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html]
Taxonomic Comments
Mead and Brownell (in Wilson and Reeder 2005) recognized two species of minke whales, Balaenoptera acutorostrata (common minke whale, with a worldwide distribution) and B. bonaerensis (Antarctic minke whale, in the Southern Hemisphere). Balaenoptera acutorostrata includes the unnamed dwarf minke whale of the Southern Hemisphere.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-04
Change Date1996-11-15
Range Extent Comments
Throughout the world's oceans in tropical, temperate, and polar waters, including Hudson Bay (Can. Field-Nat. 106:266-267). See IUCN (1991) for further details. IWC stock management units have little or no biological significance (IUCN 1991). Occasional strandings in Gulf of Mexico but not live sightings (ASM 2025, Jefferson and Schiro 1997).
Threat Impact Comments
Some stocks (e.g., Sea of Japan/Yellow Sea/East China Sea stock and northeastern North Atlantic stock) have been depleted by commercial whaling (IUCN 1991). There is concern about the status of the West Greenland stock, where catches by local people for their own use continue (IUCN 1991). In the early 1990s, there was strong pressure from some countries to reopen commercial whaling for this species.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Coastal and pelagic waters.

Ecology

Usually solitary, sometimes found in groups of 2-3. Annual survival rate in Antarctic exceeds 90% (IUCN 1991). Common prey for orca (killer whale).

Reproduction

Gestation lasts 10-11 months. Single calf is born November-March in North Atlantic, mainly late May and early June in Southern Hemisphere. Young are weaned in 6 months or less. Adult females produce one calf every 1-2 years. Most sources give the age of sexual maturity as 6-7 years or 7-8 years, but 2 years or mean of 6-15 years also has been reported; age of maturity apparently decreases when populations are significantly reduced. Maximum age is about 30-40 years in the North Atlantic, something less than 50 years in the Southern Hemisphere.
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN2
ProvinceRankNative
AlaskaS4Yes
MarylandSNAYes
New YorkSNRNYes
South CarolinaS3Yes
North CarolinaSNAYes
TexasS1Yes
FloridaSNRYes
WashingtonSUYes
MassachusettsS3Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
MaineSNRYes
OregonSNAYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
CanadaN5N
ProvinceRankNative
Prince Edward IslandSNRYes
Nova ScotiaS4Yes
QuebecS4Yes
British ColumbiaS4NYes
New BrunswickS4Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource use——High (continuing)
5.4 - Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources——High (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weather——Moderate - low
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alteration——Moderate - low

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Roadless Areas (4)
Alaska (4)
AreaForestAcres
College FiordChugach National Forest1,130,818
GravinaTongass National Forest37,381
Sitka SoundTongass National Forest13,459
South KruzofTongass National Forest55,193
References (24)
  1. American Society of Mammalogists (ASM). 2025. Mammal Diversity Database (Version 1.13) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10595931. Online. Available: https://www.mammaldiversity.org/
  2. Banfield, A. W. F. 1974. The mammals of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada. 438 pp.
  3. Bradley, R.D., L.K. Ammerman, R.J. Baker, L.C. Bradley, J.A. Cook. R.C. Dowler, C. Jones, D.J. Schmidly, F.B. Stangl Jr., R.A. Van den Bussche and B. Würsig. 2014. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 2014. Museum of Texas Tech University Occasional Papers 327:1-28. Available at: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/publications/opapers/ops/OP327.pdf
  4. Committee on Taxonomy. 2017. List of marine mammal species and subspecies. Society for Marine Mammalogy, www.marinemammalscience.org, consulted on 24 December 2017.
  5. Cooke, J.G. 2018. <i>Balaenoptera acutorostrata</i>. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T2474A50348265. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T2474A50348265.en.
  6. Falklands Conservation. 2000. Falkland Islands wildlife. Falklands Conservation. http://www.falklands-nature.demon.co.uk/wildlife/chklst.html
  7. Folkens, P. 1984. The whale watcher's handbook. Doubleday Co., Inc., Garden City, NY 208 pp.
  8. Godin, A. J. 1977. Wild mammals of New England. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 304 pp.
  9. Hall, E. R. 1981a. The Mammals of North America, second edition. Vols. I &amp; II. John Wiley &amp; Sons, New York, New York. 1181 pp.
  10. Hebda, A.J. 2011. List of mammals of Nova Scotia (including synonyms used in the literature relating to Nova Scotia) (revision 2) 24 July 2011. Nova Scotia Museum Collections Unit, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 24 pp. Online. Available: https://naturalhistory.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/inline/images/names_and_synonyms_ver3.pdf
  11. IUCN (World Conservation Union). 1991. Dolphins, Porpoises and Whales of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book. M. Klinowska (compiler). IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, United Kingdom. viii + 429 pp.
  12. Jefferson, T. A., and A. J. Schiro. 1997. Distribution of cetaceans in the offshore Gulf of Mexico. Mammal Review 27:27-50.
  13. Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
  14. Katona, S. K., V. Rough, and D. T. Richardson. 1983. A Field guide to the whales, porpoises, and seals of the gulf of Maine and eastern Canada. Cape Cod to Newfoundland. Charles Scribner's Sons, N.Y. 255 pp.
  15. Leatherwood, S., and R. R. Reeves. 1983. The Sierra Club handbook of whales and dolphins. Sierra Club Books, San Francisco. 302 pp.
  16. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). 1987. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Annual Report 1986/87.
  17. Orgeira, J. L. 2004. Asociaciones entre aves marinas y cetáceos en el Océano Atlántico Sur y Antártida. Ornitologia Neotropical 15:163-171.
  18. Pacheco, V., H. de Macedo, E. Vivar, C. Ascorra, R. Arana-Cardó, and S. Solari. 1995. Lista anotada de los mamíferos peruanos. Conservation International, Washington, DC.
  19. Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world: systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy, Special Publication Number 4. ix + 231 pp.
  20. Ridgway, S. H., and R. J. Harrison. 1985. Handbook of marine mammals. Vol. 3. The sirenians and baleen whales. Academic Press, New York. 362 pp.
  21. Tirira, D. 1999. Mamíferos del Ecuador. Museo de Zoología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito.
  22. Wada, S., and K. Numachi. 1991. Allozyme analyses of genetic differentiation among populations and species of <i>Balaenoptera</i>. Pages 125-154 in A. R. Hoelzel, editor. Genetic ecology of whales and dolphins. Reports of the International Whaling Commission, Special Issue 13:1-311.
  23. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 1993. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Second edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC. xviii + 1206 pp. Available online at: http://www.nmnh.si.edu/msw/.
  24. Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal species of the world: a taxonomic and geographic reference. Third edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Two volumes. 2,142 pp. [As modified by ASM the Mammal Diversity Database (MDD) at https://www.mammaldiversity.org/index.html]