Rice's whale: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the Rice's whale lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Balaenoptera ricei
Group	Whales & dolphins
Status	Critically endangered (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	North America
Class	Mammal
Order	Artiodactyla
Family	Balaenopteridae

Where does the Rice's whale live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the Rice's whale in 1 country or territory across North America.

United States

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 Rice's whale endangered?

The Rice's whale’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Critically endangered” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the Rice's whale?

The Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei) is a mammal in the order Artiodactyla and the family Balaenopteridae, genus Balaenoptera. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the Rice's whale

Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei), also known as the Gulf of Mexico whale, is a species of baleen whale endemic to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Initially identified as a subpopulation of the Bryde's whale, genetic and skeletal studies found it to be a distinct species in 2021. In outward appearance, it is virtually identical to the Bryde's whale. Its body is streamlined and sleek, with a uniformly dark charcoal gray dorsal and pale to pinkish underside. A diagnostic feature often used by field scientists to distinguish Rice's whales from whales other than the Bryde's whale is the three prominent ridges that line the top of its head. The species can be distinguished from the Bryde's whale by the shape of the nasal bones, which have wider gaps due to a unique wrapping by the frontal bones, its unique vocal repertoire, and genetic differences.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Rice's whale (revision 1369643595), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q105014096 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).