BLUE WHALE

blue whale, (Balaenoptera musculus), also

called sulfur-bottom whale, the most
massive animal ever to have lived,
a species of baleen whale that weighs
approximately 150 tons. The blue whale is
a cetacean and is classified scientifically within the
order Cetacea as a rorqual (family Balaenopteridae)
related to the gray whale (family Eschrichtiidae)
and the right whales (Balaenidae and
Neobalaenidae) of the baleen whale suborder,
Mysticeti.

Blue whales are blue-gray in colour with lighter gray mottling in the form of large spots, which appear as
if they were dabbed on with a huge paintbrush. The lower surfaces of the flippers are lighter gray or
white in some instances. The blue whale has been called the sulfur-bottom whale because of the
yellowish underside of some individuals that is reminiscent of the pale yellow colour of that chemical
element; this coloration is imparted by certain algae (diatoms) living on the whale’s body.

Blue whales are baleen whales, which mean they have  fringed plates of fingernail-like material, called
baleen, attached to their upper jaws. The giant animals feed by first gulping an enormous mouthful of
water, expanding the pleated skin on their throat and belly to take it in. Then the whales’ massive
tongue forces the water out through the thin, overlapping baleen plates. Thousands of krill are left
behind—and then swallowed.

Blue whales are among Earth's longest-lived animals. Scientists have discovered that by counting the
layers of a deceased whale's wax like earplugs, they can get a close estimate of the animal's age. The
oldest blue whale found using this method was determined to be around 110 years old. Average
lifespan is estimated at around 80 to 90 years.

Aggressive hunting in the 1900s by whalers seeking whale oil drove them to the brink of extinction.
Between 1900 and the mid-1960s, some 360,000 blue whales were slaughtered. They finally came
under protection with the 1966 International Whaling Commission, but they've managed only a minor
recovery since then.

Populations of blue whales appear to be recovering and are estimated worldwide at between 10,000
and 25,000 animals. However, the International Union for Conservation of Nature still lists the blue
whale as an endangered species.
 Analysis of Report Text: Blue Whale

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1 Simple Present Tense 1. Blue whales are baleen whales
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2 Adjective 1. Aggressive hunting in the 1900s by whalers seeking whale
oil
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3 General Noun 1. they were dabbed on with a huge paintbrush
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5 Technical Term 1. blue whale, (Balaenoptera musculus), also called sulfur-
bottom whale
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