Balaenoptera edeni (Bryde's whale)

Bryde se walvis [Afrikaans]

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)

Bryde's whale (with Dusky dolphin chasing sardines), seen on a pelagic trip off Cape Town, South Africa. [photo Trevor Hardaker ©]
Bryde's whale in St. Helena Bay, Western Cape, South Africa. [photo Jim Scarff ©]
Bryde's whales, seen on two different pelagic trips off Cape Town, South Africa. [photos Trevor Hardaker ©]

This is a large filter feeding whale of about 12 metres in length and with an average weight of 12 000kilograms. It’s skull is broad and flat. It has a small dorsal fin and is bluish grey in colour.

Text by Derek Ohland