Balaenoptera musculus
Date 1987
Source Cetaceans of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
Author NOAA United States. National Marine Fisheries Service
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balaenoptera_musculus_NOAA.jpg

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is a marine mammal belonging to the baleen whales (Mysticeti). It is the largest animal known to have ever existed. Blue whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth but their numbers are greatly reduced due to whaling.