Taxon profile (not confirmed)

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subspecies

Balaenoptera musculus arabica Khalaf, 2021

kingdom Animalia - animals » phylum Chordata - chordates » class Mammalia - mammals » order Artiodactyla - even-toed ungulates » family Balaenopteridae - finner whales » genus Balaenoptera

Names

Arabian Sea Blue Whale

Etymology/Derivation of the Scientific Name

The genus name "Balaenoptera" is a combination of two Latin words, "Balaena" (whale) and "pteron" (having a dorsal fin). The specific Latin name "musculus" have two meanings (muscle) and (little mouse). Carl Linnaeus, who named the species in 1758, is thought to have known the dual meaning, and may have used it as a bit of irony. The subspecific name “arabica” is Latin for (Arabian)-Sea, where this new subspecies of blue whale is living.

Distribution

The Arabian subspecies, B. m. arabica (new subspecies) lives in the Arabian Sea and Western Indian Ocean. The new population was detected by its novel song-type which was recorded off Oman in the Arabian Sea/northern Indian Ocean, off the western Chagos Archipelago in the equatorial central Indian Ocean, and off Madagascar in the southwestern Indian Ocean.

Author: Dr. Norman Ali Khalaf-von Jaffa

Note

Reference: Khalaf-Prinz Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Mohammad Ahmad Ahmad Mostafa Abdallah Mohammad (January 2021). The Arabian Sea Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus arabica Khalaf, 2021): A New Subspecies from the Arabian Sea and Western Indian Ocean. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Volume 39, Number 193, 01 January 2021, pp. 17-46. Published by Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Khalaf Department for Environmental Research and Media, National Research Center, University of Palestine, Gaza, State of Palestine. https://cetacea-5.webs.com/arabian-sea-blue-whale & https://issuu.com/dr-norman-ali-khalaf/docs/arabian_sea_blue_whale

Data source

Khalaf-Prinz Sakerfalke von Jaffa, Prof. Dr. Sc. Norman Ali Bassam Ali Taher Mohammad Ahmad Ahmad Mostafa Abdallah Mohammad (January 2021). The Arabian Sea Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus arabica Khalaf, 2021): A New Subspecies from the Arabian Sea and Western Indian Ocean. Gazelle: The Palestinian Biological Bulletin. ISSN 0178 – 6288. Volume 39, Number 193, 01 January 2021, pp. 17-46. Published by Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Khalaf Department for Environmental Research and Media, National Research Center, University of Palestine, Gaza, State of Palestine. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348390612_The_Arabian_Sea_Blue_Whale_Balaenoptera_musculus_arabica_Khalaf_2021_A_New_Subspecies_from_the_Arabian_Sea_and_Western_Indian_Ocean

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