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Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Cetartiodactyla > Family: Balaenopteridae > Genus: Balaenoptera > Species: Balaenoptera musculus

Blue whale - Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758)

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Quick facts

Threat status Europe	Endangered (IUCN)
Protected by	EU Habitats Directive and 9 other international agreements
Most preferred habitats	open ocean
Natura 2000 species code	5020

Distribution

The distribution map is currently disabled. A new map solution will soon become available. In the meantime, please consult other species distribution map providers listed in the Other resources panel below.

Threat and conservation status

IUCN Red List status of threatened species

The IUCN Red List threat status assesses the risk of extinction.

World

Endangered

Europe

Endangered

IUCN Red List Category

Not Evaluated	Near Threatened	Regionally Extinct
Not Applicable	Vulnerable	Extinct in the Wild
Data Deficient	Endangered	Extinct
Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Sources:

EU conservation status

Conservation status assesses every six years and for each biogeographical region the condition of habitats and species compared to the favourable status as described in the Habitats Directive. The map shows the 2013-2018 assessments as reported by EU Member State. Assessments are further detailed in the summary document available behind the link below.

Good: the species is viable and maintaining itself on a long-term basis, its natural range is not reduced, and it has a sufficient large habitat.
Poor: the species is not as critical as being unfavourable-bad, but still requires significant conservation and restoration measure to make it viable in the long-term, or to enlarged its current range, or to improve the quality and availability of its habitat.
Bad: the species is either not maintaining itself on a long-term basis and is not viable, or its natural range as been or is being drastically reduced, or its habitat is largely insufficient; the species requires major conservation and restoration measures.
Unknown: the information available for the species is scarce and does not allow a proper assessment of its conservation status.

Natura 2000 sites

Not available

Legal status

Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements

Legal text	Annex	Conditions	More information
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - consolidated version 01/01/2007 (EU Habitats Directive)	Annex IV: animal and plant species of community interest in need of strict protection. (All species of Cetacea)		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Annex II: strictly protected fauna species (Sibbaldus musculus)		http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cul.../bern/default_en.asp
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. (Bonn Convention)	Annex I: migratory species which are endangered and must be protected by Parties	Synonym for this species is listed in Appendix I of the Bonn Convention (CMS). See there for more details.	http://www.cms.int/
	Annex I: migratory species which are endangered and must be protected by Parties
Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area. Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals. (ACCOBAMS)			http://www.eurobats.org/ http://www.migratoryspecies....ent/about-cms-family
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.	Synonym for this species is listed in CITES. See there for more details.	http://www.cites.org/eng
	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.
Commission regulation (EU) No 1320/2014, of 1 December 2014, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (EU regulation of trade of fauna and flora)	Annex A includes: All CITES Appendix I species, except where EU Member States have entered a reservation; Some CITES Appendix II and III species, for which the EU has adopted stricter domestic measures; Some non-CITES species		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...s/legislation_en.htm
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ("OSPAR Convention") (OSPAR Convention)	Initial OSPAR List of Threatened and/or Declining Species and Habitats (Reference Number: 2003-14) in addition to Annex V		http://www.ospar.org/content...240000_000000_000000
	or declining species in the North East Atlantic. The purpose of the list is to guide the OSPAR Commission in setting priorities for its further work on the conservation and protection of marine biodiversity. The inclusion of a species or of a type of habitat on this list has no other significance.	Synonym for this species is listed in OSPAR Convention. See there for more details.

Common names and synonyms

Common Name	Language	Reference
baleine bleue	French	OSPAR Convention Annex V
Blåhval	Norwegian	Direktoratet for Naturforvaltning
Blue whale	English	OSPAR Convention Annex V

Synonym	Author
Balaena musculus	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Sibbaldius musculus	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Sibbaldus musculus	(Linnaeus, 1758)
Sibbaldus (Balaenoptera) musculus
All species of Cetacea

Other resources

CoL (accepted name)	Catalogue of Life
EoL	Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea search	Fauna Europaea
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Habitats Directive Art. 17-2006 summary
ITIS (Valid name)	Interagency Taxonomic Information System
NCBI	National Center for Biotechnology Information
PESI (Accepted)	Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure
Species+	Species+ by UNEP-WCMC
Wikipedia	Wikipedia
WoRMS	World Register of Marine Species

External data

Reportnet deliveries

Files delivered through Reportnet with relevance to this species.

6 items found, displaying all items.1

Released	Coverage	Envelope	File
2013-10-10	United Kingdom	Habitats Directive Article 17 2013 2nd submission UK	GB_species_reports-13925-15297.xml
2013-09-18	Portugal	Relatorio nacional sobre a implementacao da Directiva Habitats 2013	PT_species_reports.xml
2013-09-13	Ireland	Habitats Directive Article 17 Report 2013	IE_species_reports-1396-14232.xml
2013-09-11	Spain	Habitats Directive: Report Art.17 2007-2012	ES_species_reports
2008-07-07	Spain	Spain's delivery of 3 July	Balaenoptera musculus
2008-01-11	Ireland	Habitats Directive Article 17 report	Balaenoptera musculus

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