Megabalaena

Megabalaena
Temporal range: Late Miocene (Tortonian),
Reconstructed skeleton of the holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Parvorder: Mysticeti
Family: Balaenidae
Genus: Megabalaena
Tanaka et al., 2025
Species:
M. sapporoensis
Binomial name
Megabalaena sapporoensis
Tanaka et al., 2025

Megabalaena (lit.'"large Balaena"') is an extinct genus of baleen whales in the family Balaenidae, known from the Toyama Formation of Japan, which dates to the late Miocene epoch (~9 million years ago). The genus contains a single species, Megabalaena sapporoensis, known from a partial skeleton including a partial skull. It likely had a full body length of 12.7 metres (42 ft).