Blue Whale
Table of Contents
Scientific name of the Blue Whale is Balaenoters Musculus. It is the biggest mammal on the Earth. The other names of the Blue Whale are Sulphur bottom whale, Sibbald’s rorqual and so on. Scientists have identified two species of whales: the baleen and toothed. The Blue Whale classification developed in 1758 is presented below (Reiter, 2003).
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordate
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Sub order: Mysticeti
Family: Balaenopteradae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Species: Musculus
Relationship with Other Species
There exist some relationships between the different species of whales. The Blue Whales reach sexual maturity between five to ten years. The female whale normally gives birth every two to three years. Just like other species, the Blue Whale calves always form a close bond with their mother. The mother will nurse the young calves for approximately one year, just like other whale species (Reiter, 2003). All whale species have a unique way of communication. They produce certain sounds and can communicate at a range of thousand miles apart.
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In the kingdom animalia, the hippopotamus is molecularly the closest terrestrial species to the Blue Whale. In the marine ecosystem, species that share some characteristics with the Blue Whale include dolphins, porpoises and other members of the family cetaceans (Reiter, 2003). The Sei whale and the Bryde’s whale are remarkably similar morphologically to the Blue Whale. The only identifiable difference is that the Bryde’s whale has three ridges on its head, while the Sei whale has only one ridge. Another common feature between the Blue Whale and the two other species is that they all have a long, pointed snout. What is more, they have alike dorsal fin and skull structure (Reiter, 2003).
It should be noted that all species of whale can jump or breach high out of the water and slap loudly onto the sea as they come down (Reiter, 2003).