Balaenoptera borealis (Sei whale)

northern rorqual, pollack whale, coalfish whale, sardine whale, Rudolph's rorqual, Japan finner [English]; seiwalvis [Afrikaans]; Seiwal [German]; rorqual du Nord, rorqual du Rudolph, baleine noire [French]

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Craniata > Vertebrata (vertebrates)  > Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) > Teleostomi (teleost fish) > Osteichthyes (bony fish) > Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) > Stegocephalia (terrestrial vertebrates) > Reptiliomorpha > Amniota > Synapsida (mammal-like reptiles) > Therapsida > Theriodontia >  Cynodontia > Mammalia (mammals) > Placentalia (placental mammals) > Laurasiatheria > Ferungulata > Cetartiodactyla (even-toed ungulates and cetaceans) > Whippomorpha > Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) > Family: Balaenopteridae (rorquals)

Sei whale, seen on a pelagic trip off Cape Town, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]

The Sei whale is a large whale averaging 15 metres in length and weighs around 14 000 kilograms. It is a filter feeding baleen whale of a dark grey colour.

Text by Derek Ohland