Common Minke Whale
300069
225520426
2008-07-14T03:15:22Z
Rlendog
4057701
{{Taxobox
| name = Common Minke Whale <ref name=grove>{{cite web|title=Mammal Species of the World|url=http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14300012|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref>
| status = LR/nt
| status_system = iucn2.3
| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite web|title=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/2474/all|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref>
| image = minke.jpg
| image_caption = A surfacing Minke Whale, Skjálfandi, Iceland
| image2 = Minke_whale_size.svg
| image2_caption = Size comparison against an average human
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| subclassis = [[Eutheria]]
| ordo = [[Cetacea]]
| subordo = [[Mysticeti]]
| familia = [[Balaenopteridae]]
| genus = ''[[Balaenoptera]]''
| species = '''''B. acutorostrata'''''
| binomial = ''Balaenoptera acutorostrata''
| binomial_authority = [[Bernard Germain Etienne de la Ville, Comte de Lacepede|Lacepede]], [[1804]]
| range_map2 = Cetacea range map Minke Whale.png
| range_map2_caption = Minke Whale range
| range_map3 = Cetacea range map Dwarf Minke Whale.png
| range_map3_caption = Dwarf Minke Whale range
}}
The '''Common Minke Whale''' or '''Northern Minke Whale''', (''Balaenoptera acutorostrata''), is a species of [[Minke Whale]] within the suborder of [[baleen whale]]s.
==Taxonomy==
The Common Minke Whale was first identified by Lacepede in [[1804]].<ref name=grove>{{cite web|title=Mammal Species of the World|url=http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14300012|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref> There are several forms of Common Minke Whale, including Scammon's Minke Whale (''B. a. scammoni'') from the North Pacific and the Dwarf Minke Whale, from the Southern Hemisphere.<ref name=grove>{{cite web|title=Mammal Species of the World|url=http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/browse.asp?id=14300012|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref>
Until recently, all Minke Whales were considered a single species. However, the Common Minke Whale was recognized as a separate species from the [[Antarctic Minke Whale]] based on [[mitochondrial DNA]] testing.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cetacean mitochondrial DNA control region: sequences of all extant baleen whales and two sperm whale species|url=http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/5/960|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref> This testing also confirmed that the Antarctic Minke Whale is the closest relative of the Common Minke Whale, thus confirming the validity of the Minke Whale [[clade]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Cetacean mitochondrial DNA control region: sequences of all extant baleen whales and two sperm whale species|url=http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/10/5/960|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref>
==Physical description==
The Common Minke Whale is the smallest of the [[rorqual]]s, and one of the smallest baleen whales (second smallest only to the [[Pygmy Right Whale]]). Except for the dwarf form, length ranges from 7 to 9.8 [[meter]]s and weight ranges from 5 to 10 [[ton]]s.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref> On average, females are about 0.5 meters longer than males.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref> Newborns range from 2.4 to 3.5 meters.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref> The dwarf form has a smaller adult length of up to 7.8 meters.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref>
The back is dark grey and the belly white. All forms have a pale chevron above the flippers or behind the head. All forms also have a white or light marking on each flipper. On the dwarf form the white marking covers most of the flipper. On the northern forms, there is a distict white band running horizontally through the middle of each flipper. This band is more grey in the Scammon's Minke Whales.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref>
The Common Minke Whale differs from the [[Antarctic Minke Whale]] in several aspects. The Common Minke Whale is slightly smaller than the Antarctic Minke Whale, and the Antarctic Minke Whale has much less white marking on the flippers. There are also less distinctive differences in body coloration and shape.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref>
==Distribution==
Common Minke Whales have a disjointed distribution. The non-dwarf forms live in the North [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] and North [[Pacific Ocean]]s. The Scammon form is from the North Pacific. The dwarf form has a distribution completely separate from the other forms, living in southern oceans. The dwarf form has a distribution generally north of the [[Antarctic Minke Whale]], although there is some overlap.<ref name=princeton>{{cite book|title=Whales Dolphins and other Marine Mammals of the World|author=Jarrett, Brett and Shirihai, Hadoram|year=2006|page=62-68|id=ISBN 0-691-12757-3}}</ref>
== Whaling ==
{{main|Whaling}}
[[Image:NorwegianWhaleCatches.png|thumb|300px|left|Norwegian Minke Whale quotas (blue line, 1994-2006) and catches (red line, 1946.2005) in numbers (From Norwegian official statistics)]]
Whaling was mentioned in Norwegian written sources as early as the year 800 and hunting Common Minke Whales with harpoons was common in the 11th century{{Fact|date=August 2007}}.
By the end of the 1930s they were the target of coastal whaling from countries including [[Brazil]], [[Canada]], [[China]], [[Greenland]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]] and [[Norway]]. Hunting continued apace until the general moratorium on whaling was introduced in 1986.
Following the moratorium, most hunting of Common Minke Whales ceased. Japan and more recently Iceland (in August 2003) have continued hunting for Minkes on scientific grounds, however, these "scientific grounds" are criticised by many environmental organisations as being a cover for commercial whaling. Both Iceland and Japan have the long term goal of resuming open commercial whaling. Although Norway initially followed the moratorium, they placed an objection to it with the IWC and resumed a commercial hunt in 1993. Norwegian whalers caught 639 in 2005. The quota for 2006 was set at 1052 animals, from which a catch of 546 was taken.<ref>[http://www.lofotposten.no/lokale_nyheter/article2241060.ece Tok bare halve hvalkvoten - lofotposten.no<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
== Common Minke Whale-watching ==
[[Image:Minke whale in ross sea.jpg|thumb|200px|Minke whale in [[Ross sea]]]]Due to their relative abundance Common Minke Whales are often the focus of [[whale-watching]] cruises setting sail from, for instance, the [[Isle of Mull]] in [[Scotland]], [[County Cork]] in [[Ireland]] and [[Húsavík]] in Iceland. Common Minke Whales are frequently inquisitive and will indulge in 'human-watching'. In contrast to the spectacularly acrobatic [[Humpback Whale]], Minkes do not raise their fluke out of the water when diving and are less likely to [[Whale surfacing behaviour|breach]] (jump clear of the sea surface). This, combined with the fact that Minkes can dive under water for as long as twenty minutes, has led some whale-watching enthusiasts to label them 'stinky Minkes'. The name may also be applied because it is frequently possible to smell the breath of a Minke Whale whilst observing it from a boat.
==Conservation Status==
The Common Minke Whale is considered Lower Risk, near threatened, by the IUCN red list.<ref name=IUCN>{{cite web|title=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/2474/all|accessdate=2007-07-13}}</ref>
==References ==
{{cetaceaportal}}
{{reflist}}
{{Cetacea|M.}}
[[Category:Baleen whales]]
[[Category:Fauna of Ireland]]
[[Category:Mammals of Europe]]
[[Category:Fauna of Greenland]]
[[Category:Cetaceans of Australia]]