Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Suborder: Whippomorpha
Infraorder: Cetacea
Parvorder: Mysticeti
Superfamily: Balaenopteroidea
Family: Balaenopteridae
Subfamily: Balaenopterinae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Species: B. brydei
Binomial name: Balaenoptera brydei
Common name: Bryde's whale
Bryde's whale (pronounced 'Broodus') is locally common and are concentrated in certain coastal areas during summer months, such as the Parry Channel between Bream Head and the Hen and Chickens Islands, Cape Brett, the Cavalli Islands and Cape Karikari. These locations intersect the warm, southward-flowing east Australian Current.
Strandings of this species have occurred on the Chatham Islands, Firth of Thames, Auckland, Bay of Island, Northland, Moremonui on the northwest coast and in Spirits Bay.
A Bryde whale has a is a long streamlined body. Adult whales are >15m in length with a weight >22 tons. The back and flanks are a smokey grey and the underside ranges from white or pale yellow on the throat to a blue-grey or creamy grey near the vent.
The head is broad and flattened, narrow in profile. A distinguishing feature of Bryde’s whale is the presence of three raised lateral ridges that run from the tip of the snout to the twin blowholes. Other baleen whales only have 1 ridge. The two blowholes are on each side of the median ridge that passes down the centre of the head. All baleen whales have two blowholes (toothed whales have only one). The blow is narrow and will spray up to 4 m high.
The flukes of this species are elongated with a notch in the middle. The dorsal fin is set about three-quarters back along the body and has a very arched trailing edge. There are pleats that run along the throat and belly, extending to the umbilicus (belly button).
They are found singly, in pairs, or in small pods of up to 7. As many as 30 may gather on good feeding grounds.
A distinguishing feature of Bryde’s whale is the presence of three raised lateral ridges that run from the tip of the snout to the twin blowholes.
A graphic showing a Bryde's whale size in relation to a human.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information:
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