North Pacific fin whale
| North Pacific fin whale | |
|---|---|
| Size compared to an average human | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Balaenopteridae |
| Genus: | Balaenoptera |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | B. p. velifera
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Balaenoptera physalus velifera (Scammon, 1869)
| |
The North Pacific fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus velifera) is a subspecies of fin whale that lives in the North Pacific Ocean. Most experts consider the fin whales of the North Pacific to be a third subspecies—this was supported by a 2013 study, which found that the Northern Hemisphere northern fin whale was not composed of a single subspecies. At least one other subspecies of fin whale, the southern fin whale (B. p. quoyi), exists in the Southern Hemisphere.