Description
English: Balaenoptera-acutorostrata aground on the coasts of Brittany in February 1861
Français : Balaenoptera-acutorostrata échouée sur les côtes de Bretagne en fevrier 1861
Date 1871
Source Nouvelles Archives du Muséum d'histoire Naturelle http://www.botanicus.org/item/31753003487169
Author Marie-Firmin Bocourt (1819-1904)
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balaenoptera-acutorostrata.jpg

The common minke whale or northern minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the smallest member of the rorquals and the second smallest species of baleen whale. Although first ignored by whalers due to its small size and low oil yield, it began to be exploited by various countries beginning in the early 20th century. As other species declined larger numbers of common minke whales were caught, largely for their meat. It is now one of the primary targets of the whaling industry. There is a dwarf form in the Southern Hemisphere. Order: Artiodactyla, Infraorder: Cetacea, Family: Balaenopteridae, Genus: Balaenoptera, Species: Balaenoptera acutorostrata Lacepede, 1804.
Synonyms:
Balaena rostrata Fabricius, 1780
Rorqualus boops F. Cuvier, 1836
Balaena minima Rapp, 1837
Balaenoptera eschrichtii Rasch, 1845
Pterobalaena minor Eschricht, 1849
Agaphelus gibbosus Cope, 1868
Balaenoptera davidsoni Scammon, 1872
Sibbaldius mondinii Capellini, 1877