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Balaenoptera borealis Lesson, 1828
Sei whale| Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050 |
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| This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed. |
| Balaenoptera borealis AquaMaps Data sources: GBIF OBIS |
Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS
Mammalia | Cetartiodactyla | Balaenopteridae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology
Pelagic; depth range 0 - 342 m (Ref. 116169). Tropical; 8°C - 25°C (Ref. 75906); 90°N - 90°S, 180°W - 180°E
Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions
Circumglobal: Balaenoptera borealis borealis: Greenland, Iceland, Norway, North Carolina, Bay of Biscay, Mediterranean Sea, South Carolina, Gulf of Mexico, Bay of Campeche, Caribbean Sea, Cuba, Anguilla, Morocco, Mauritania, Alaska, Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Japan, Southern California, Ogasawara, Mexico, Islas Revilla Gigedo (Pacific Ocean); Balaenoptera borealis schlegellii: Antarctica, Brazil, Angola, South Africa, Western Australia, Cook Straits, New Zealand, Peru, Java Indonesia (Ref. 1522).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 1,330.0 range ? - ? cm Max length : 1,800 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1394); max. published weight: 30.0 t (Ref. 1394)
Largest of the sei whales. As the larger rorquals became scarce in recent decades, hunting pressure on sei, Bryde’s, and minke whales increased, largely in the Antarctic. Although heavily depleted, sei whales have recovered somewhat more successfully from hunting than other large baleen whales (Ref. 1394). Generally found in coastal, shelf and oceanic waters (Ref. 122680). Feeds at the shelf break and seaward throughout the summer (Ref. 96832). Restricted to mid-latitude temperate zones (Ref. 1394). Uses both skimming and gulping as feeding strategies (Ref. 122680). Skims copepods and other small prey types (Ref. 1394); also feeds on squids (Ref. 122680), euphausiids and a variety of fish including saury and whiting. Also a "swallower." Zooplankton concentrations influence where the whales feed. Migratory (Ref. 96832). Commonly in groups of 2 to 5 individuals (Ref. 801).
Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Main reference
References | Coordinator | Collaborators
Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber. 1993. (Ref. 1394)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Endangered (EN) (A1abd); Date assessed: 25 June 2018
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Appendix I: International trade banned
CMS (Ref. 116361)
Appendix I & II: Endangered migratory species conserved through agreements
Threat to humans
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile | FishSource | Sea Around Us
Tools
More information
Trophic Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
Distribution
Physiology
Oxygen consumption
Human Related
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Taxonomy
References
Internet sources
BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: species profile; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref. 115969): 0.2 - 3.1, mean 1.5 (based on 19380 cells).
Price category
(Ref. 80766):
Unknown.