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The
blue whale (
Balaenoptera musculus) is a
marine mammal and a
baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of 29.9 meters (98 ft) and weighing up to 199 tonnes (196 long tons; 219 short tons), it is the largest animal known to have ever existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can be of various shades of greyish-blue dorsally and somewhat lighter underneath. Four
subspecies are recognized:
B. m. musculus in the North Atlantic and North Pacific,
B. m. intermedia in the Southern Ocean,
B. m. brevicauda (the
pygmy blue whale) in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean,
B. m. indica in the Northern Indian Ocean. There is also a population in the waters off Chile that may constitute a fifth subspecies.
In general, blue whale populations migrate between their summer feeding areas near the poles and their winter breeding grounds near the tropics. There is also evidence of year-round residencies, and partial or age/sex-based migration. Blue whales are
filter feeders; their diet consists almost exclusively of
krill. They are generally solitary or gather in small groups, and have no well-defined social structure other than mother-calf bonds. The
fundamental frequency for blue whale vocalizations ranges from 8 to 25 Hz and the production of vocalizations may vary by region, season, behavior, and time of day.
Orcas are their only natural predators.