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Sei Whale
Balaenoptera borealisPacific region

  • Generalities
  • Morpho-functionality
  • Lifecycle
  • Distribution

RECORRIDO VIRTUAL POR LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE COLOMBIA
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Sei Whale
Balaenoptera borealis

They can reach between 12 and 18 m long and can weigh more than 25 tons. They are filter whales which means that instead of teeth they have baleen that helps them filter their food. They open their mouths and ingest large amounts of water that they then expel trapping only krill and fish. They can be found alone or in small groups. They can reach a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. A touristic boat reaches 70km.

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the Wild

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Not Evaluated

Data Deficient

Morpho-functionality

Skin folds

The folds on its belly help hide its genitals and nipples.

Wattles

The wattles inside its mouth are fringe-shaped keratinized epithelial structures that function as a strainer to filter the krill and fish they eat.

Lungs

Their lungs collapse when submerged avoiding damages when under pressure from the deep ocean.

Lifecycle

Gestation lasts ten to twelve months with a single calf that is born measuring 4.5 to 4.8 m in length. Primiparous females usually give birth six days after multiparous females (these that have given birth on more than one occasion). The calf is suckled for about six to seven months. Sexual maturity is reached by females at eight years of age when they are 14 m long, and in males at nine years of age when they are at least 13.8 m in length. Each reproductive cycle of the female takes between two and three years. Their life expectancy is a little over 70 years.

Sei Whale

Distribution

Due to its size, it is a pelagic animal, which means that lives in an area of the ocean that is not on continental plates, which is why it is common to find it in all oceans, mainly in temperate waters of the southern hemisphere, far from the coasts and the boreal oceans.

Distribution area