Pygmy Blue Whale

Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda Ichihara 1966

Emily Roberts cc-by-4.0

Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda (Pygmy Blue Whale) is a subspecies of Mammal in the family Balaenopteridae. They are carnivores. Individuals can grow to 32.6 m. They rely on lift powered swimming to move around.

URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q81875
Definition: organism that eats mostly or exclusively animal tissue
Attribution: Crustacean body sizes

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URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.

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EOL has data for 26 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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auditory system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0016490
- Definition: the sensory system for the sense of hearing
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otoliths
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q591800
- Definition: Inner-ear structure in vertebrates which detects acceleration and may detect acoustic signals
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body length
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CMO_0000013
- Definition: A measurement of the longest dimension of a body, typically between two distinct ends of the body.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: Dorland:Dorlands_Illustrated_Medical_Dictionary--31st_Ed] [database_cross_reference: ISBN:978-1416049982]
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26.8 m
body mass
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/VT_0001259
- Definition: The amount of matter in the body of an organism.
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2 tons
cellularity
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001992
- Definition: An organismal quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting cells. [ PATOC:GVG ]
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multicellular
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001993
- Definition: A cellularity quality inhering in a bearer by virtue of the bearers consisting of more than one cell. [ PATOC:GVG ]
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eats
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_0002470
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Onychoteuthis banksii (Leach 1817) (clawed calamary squid)
ecomorphological guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/EcomorphologicalGuild
- Definition: organisms that share certain morphological traits due to adaptation to similar environments and ecological roles
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nectonic
- URI: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/Nekton
- Definition: Active swimming organisms that live in the water column and are able to move independently of the water mass (adapted from Lincoln et al., 1998).
- Attribution: http://www.marinespecies.org/traits/wiki/Traits:Nekton
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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subantarctic
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1141556
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habitat
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_0002303
- Definition: x has habitat y if: x is an organism, y is a habitat, and y can sustain and allow the growth of a population of x
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tropical
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ENVO_01000204
- Comment: Ontology Description: http://environmentontology.org/ Ontology Source: http://envo.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/src/envo/envo.owl
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locomotion
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/GO_0040011
- Definition: Self-propelled movement of a cell or organism from one location to another.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: GOC:dgh]
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lift powered swimming
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lift_based_swimming
- Definition: Hydrofoils, or fins, are used to push against the water to create a normal force to provide thrust, propelling the animal through water. The reduction of fin cross-sectional area helps to minimize drag, and therefore increase efficiency. Regardless of size of the animal, at any particular speed, maximum possible lift is proportional to (wing area) x (speed)<sup>2</sup>. Dolphins and whales have large, horizontal caudal hydrofoils, while many fish and sharks have vertical caudal hydrofoils.
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preys on
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/RO_0002439
- Definition: An interaction relationship involving a predation process, where the subject kills the target in order to eat it or to feed to siblings, offspring or group members
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Euphausia diomedeae Ortmann 1894
visual system
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/UBERON_0002104
- Definition: The sensory system subserving the sense of vision.
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lens eyes
- URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/lens_eyes
- Definition: Relative to pinhole eyes, lens eyes have greatly improved resolution and image brightness. The lens converges incoming rays of light, thereby reducing the angle over which each photoreceptor receives light, and forming an image focused on the retina. Most lens eyes have "accommodation"; they can focus an image either by physically moving the lens toward or away from the retina or by using eye muscles to adjust the shape of the lens.
- Attribution: https://www.britannica.com/science/photoreception/Single-chambered-eyes#ref278819
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Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of pygmy blue whale. View this species on GBIF

Emily Roberts cc-by-4.0