Antarctic minke whale: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Antarctic minke whale lives – recorded in 8 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Balaenoptera bonaerensis
Group	Whales & dolphins
Status	Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	8 countries
Continents	Africa, Antarctica, North America, Oceania, South America
Class	Mammal
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Balaenopteridae

Where does the Antarctic minke whale live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Antarctic minke whale in 8 countries and territories across Africa, Antarctica, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Brazil.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the Antarctic minke whale endangered?

The Antarctic minke whale’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Antarctic minke whale?

The Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Balaenopteridae, genus Balaenoptera. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Antarctic minke whale

The Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second smallest rorqual after the common minke whale and the third smallest baleen whale. Although first scientifically described in the mid-19th century, it was not recognized as a distinct species until the 1990s. Once ignored by the whaling industry due to its small size and low oil yield, the Antarctic minke was able to avoid the fate of other baleen whales and maintained a large population into the 21st century, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Surviving to become the most abundant baleen whale in the world, it is now one of the mainstays of the industry alongside its cosmopolitan counterpart the common minke. It is primarily restricted to the Southern Hemisphere (although vagrants have been reported in the North Atlantic) and feeds mainly on euphausiids.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Antarctic minke whale (revision 1380071128), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q301055 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).