| Balaenopteridae (rorquals, finback whales) |
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pelagic; marine; depth range 150 - 410 m |
| Western Central Atlantic: Gulf of Mexico. |
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Medium-sized rorqual whale. Nasals taper and curve laterally at the posterior end and have a smooth margin, meeting the medial-posterior margin of the ascending process of the maxilla; has broad gap between the nasal bones that does not narrow posteriorly created in part by the frontal bones which protrude anteriorly between the posterior end of the nasals. Body color: uniformly dark charcoal gray above, including both the upper and lower jaws, and light to pinkish countershading ventrally. The flippers are uniformly dark. |
| The only year-round resident baleen whale found mainly along the northeastern Gulf of Mexico (Refs. 127256, 127273). |
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Critically Endangered (CR); Date assessed: 01 September 2021 (D) Ref. 123251)
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| harmless |
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