Pygmy Blue Whale

The Pygmy Blue Whale is a subspecies of “true” blue whale belonging to the family Balaenopteridae. These blue whales can be found in the Indian and southern Pacific Ocean.

The Pygmy Blue whales is the only 1 of the 3 subspecies that is found majority of the time in tropical waters. On a regular, you will see these whales in the southern Indian and southwestern Pacific Ocean, but travel when breeding and feeding. When they are breeding, you will see them in the Indian and South Atlantic Ocean. When they are feeding, they will travel to the south, above the Antarctic. You rarely see them cross the threshold in the Artic.

This subspecies of blue whales has physical features that differ from the common blue whale. Pygmy Blue whales’ range in size. They can reach lengths between 68-74 ft and weigh an average of 100 tons (one on record at 79 ft and 143 tons!). The females do tend to be bigger than the males. Some other physical features that help determine the difference between the two are:

-baleen plates are broader and shorter

-a shorter tail, and

-longer proportional body

-larger head

-the shape of their blowhole.

According to scientist, they have found a population of Pygmy Blue whales in the Indian Ocean back in 2017. Because of their unique song, it was nuclear bomb detectors that discovered the new population.

✨

✨

#pygmywhale #bluewhale #whales #oceanfacts #educate #themoreyouknow #marinezoologist #marinelife #oceancreatures #animalfacts #animals #oceananimals #animallover #sealife #seaanimals #ocean #marineconservation #keeptheseaplasticfree #wildlifeseekers #wildlifeconservation #savetheocean #savetheplanet #marinebiology #oceanography #zoology #zoologist #explore #explorepage #tarimahthezoologist

🐬🐋🦈🐡🐙🐧🦦🐠🦑

The Pygmy Blue Whale has a shorter tadpole-like tail. This adaptation gives them a different diving behavior than “true” blue whales. The “true” blue whales have delay between the submergence of the dorsal fin and the caudal peduncle but the Pygmy’s dorsal and peduncle submerge simultaneously. Look at the mom and baby!!