General Description
Upper body grey to brown, white underneath. Lines (throat pleats) underneath from throat to middle of the body. Dorsal fin with curved edge. Tail wide with a pointed notch in the middle of the rear edge. Water spray from blowhole is a vertical jet about 5 m high. Up to 27 m long.
Biology
Fin Whales feed by rolling on their side and opening their mouth to catch krill. In some ocean areas Fin Whales are still caught commercially.
Distribution
Worldwide. Most Australian waters.
Habitat
Deep waters.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Upper body grey-brown, white underneath, curved dorsal fin, notch in tail, vertical jet as water spray.
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Maximum Size
27 m
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Habitats
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Diet
Plankton or Particles
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Endemicity
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Commercial
No
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Conservation Statuses
FFG Threatened List: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Vulnerable, IUCN Red List: Vulnerable, CITES: Trade restrictions (Appendix I)
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Depths
Shore (0-1 m), Shallow (1-30 m), Deep ( > 30 m)
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Water Column Locations
Surface, Midwater
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Taxon Name
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Common Name
Fin Whale
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Kingdom
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Class
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Order
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Suborder
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Family
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Genus
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Species Name
physalus
