• Home
  • About
  • Marine mammals
    • Dolphins
    • Porpoises
    • Seals, sea lions
    • Whales
  • Phenomena
    • Climate change
    • Invasive species
    • Pollution
    • Oceanography
  • Inspiration
    • Animal encounters
    • Earth musings
    • Easy Reader columns
    • Ocean heroes
    • Photography
    • Writing & Poetry
  • Happenings
    • Consumer Alerts
    • Ocean events
  • Resources
  • Contact

Ocean Wild Things

List of baleen whales

March 30, 2011 by Carolyn Kraft 12 Comments

Humpback whale's mouth featuring baleen

I received a website request for the names of five baleen whales, most likely for a school project. Then I realized, I’ve probably never listed all the baleen whales!

Then I started flipping through all my whale books and wouldn’t you know it, every list is slightly different. So I decided to stick with the list in the marine mammal bible, the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals.

So here it is, the list of baleen whales (this list does not include all sub-species and distinct populations):

Bowhead whale
Northern right whale
Southern right whale
Pygmy right whale
Gray whale
Humpback whale
Common minke
Dwarf minke
Antarctic minke
Bryde’s whale
Omura’s whale
Sei whale
Fin whale
Blue whale
Antarctic blue whale
Pygmy blue whale

Filed Under: Front, Whales Tagged With: baleen, cetacean, whale

Comments

  1. bob says

    June 15, 2011 at 9:37 pm

    great thank you for the list,i am at school and this was very good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  2. Brittney says

    October 20, 2011 at 8:51 am

    Thanks helped me alot on my report

    Reply
  3. Lisha says

    October 20, 2011 at 8:53 am

    Awesome website got an A on my report!!!!!’!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  4. steph says

    January 9, 2012 at 4:18 pm

    can you do a list for toothed whale plzzzzzz

    Reply
    • Carolyn Kraft says

      January 14, 2012 at 12:20 pm

      Hi Steph, I did post a list of toothed whales, here’s the link: https://oceanwildthings.com/2011/05/list-of-toothed-whales-including-dolphins/

      Hope that helps!

      Reply
  5. daniel says

    June 9, 2012 at 6:36 pm

    thank you this great for my assignment but are any of them extinct?

    Reply
    • Carolyn Kraft says

      June 10, 2012 at 1:48 pm

      Hi Daniel, Great question! All the species I’ve listed are still around thankfully, although there were some very close calls.

      However, there are many distinct populations of baleen whales that live in certain areas and there used to be a population of gray whales that lived in the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, this group of gray whales is now extinct. Scientists estimate that the Atlantic gray whales went extinct around the year 1700, most likely from whaling. But the gray whales in the Pacific Ocean are still here and the population that swims by California is doing well.

      So the short answer is: The Atlantic gray whale is extinct.

      Reply
  6. Jim Mounce says

    October 7, 2013 at 9:08 pm

    October 7, 2013 at 9:06 pm
    Thank you for the list, Carolyn. I am far beyond school age and I’m writing a novelette about critters of the aquarium and the tide pools; also a little about the creatures that hang out around and beyond the continental shelf. It started as a small collection of short stories for the younger kids in the family, but it seems to be growing. I’m delighted to have found your website.

    Thanks again,
    Jim

    Reply
    • Carolyn Kraft says

      October 7, 2013 at 9:15 pm

      Hi Jim, I’m so glad you found my website helpful! The stories you are writing sound really cool. If you end up publishing them, please let me know I would love to check them out.

      Happy writing to you!

      Reply
  7. Niza says

    April 19, 2017 at 10:04 am

    I am homeschooled and am using Easy Peasy curriculem ( and I am really bad at spelling) and doing a whale lapbook in 4th grade. This helps a lot!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. List of toothed whales (including dolphins) says:
    May 9, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    […] I recently posted a list of baleen whales, I decided it was time to post a list of all the toothed […]

    Reply
  2. Baleen Whales says:
    December 25, 2011 at 11:59 am

    […] wild things: List of baleen whales Related Posts:Toothed WhalesMinke Whale FactsWhat Types Of Whales Are There?Krill FactsBowhead […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Join the Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Subscribe Via Email

Latest Tweets

  • RT @CabrilloAqua: Join us this Saturday for our monthly Walk Cabrillo! During the coastal park walk you'll visit the native garden, salt ma… 02:04:45 PM March 07, 2023 from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @wantokmoana: Halo oloketa! Introducing Sabrina Pania MSc students and an ACAIR scholarship recipient. Sabi is studying the Nutritional… 03:58:25 PM June 14, 2022 from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
  • RT @TXSeaGrant: Approximately 45 Kemp's ridley turtles were discovered hatching on Magnolia Beach. "This has never happened in modern times… 03:57:48 PM June 14, 2022 from Twitter Web App ReplyRetweetFavorite
@oceanwildthings

Archives

Ocean Wild Things | Copyright ©2025 | All Rights Reserved