lion tamarin douradoA blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder Mysticeti Cetacea . With up to 30 m2 in length and over 180 t3 weight , they are the largest animals that ever existed that has knowledge.4
Long and slender , the body of blue whales has your back in different shades blue -gray , while its belly is usually more claro.5 There are at least three distinct subspecies : B. m . musculus , whose habitat is restricted to the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans , B. m . intermedia , the Southern Ocean and B. m . brevicauda (also known as the Blue Whale , Pygmy ) , found in the Indian Ocean and South Pacific Ocean . B. m . indicates , the Indian Ocean , may be another subspecies . As is the case with other species of the suborder Mysticeti , the diet of the blue whale consists almost exclusively of small crustaceans known as krill, which filter sea water using blades in their corneas cavity bucal.6 However, they may also feed on small fish and squid .
The blue whales were , until the early 20th century , abundant in nearly all oceans of the Earth . Hunted for more than a century , were brought to the brink of extinction by whalers until they become the object of protection mechanisms adopted by the international community in 1996 . A 2002 report estimated that there are five to twelve thousand blue whales around the world , 7 distributed at least five clusters . However , more recent research on the Pygmy subspecies suggests that the current population is maior.8 Before being hunted , the largest group was in Antarctica , with approximately 239 000 indivíduos.9 Groupings remaining current , much smaller, somewhere around 2000 individuals each, are located northwest of the Pacific , Antarctic and Indian Oceans. Two other groups of blue whales are found north of the Atlantic Ocean , and there are at least two others in the Southern Hemisphere
The dorsal fin of blue whales is small , 10 visible only for a short period of time while diving . Through its blowhole , they can can produce jets of water up to 9 m high . The volume of your lungs can reach 5000 ℓ . They are also the loudest animal in the world , can make sounds that reach 188 dB - stronger than the sound of a jet plane - and that can be heard more than 800 miles distância.3