Family
Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)
Megaptera novaeangliae. Photo: (c) Wayne and Pam Osborn, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Rorquals /ˈrɔːrkwəl/ (Balaenopteridae) are the largest group of baleen whales, a family with nine extant species in two genera. They include what is believed to be the largest animal that has ever lived, the blue whale, which can reach 180 tonnes (200 short tons), and the fin whale, which reaches 120 tonnes (130 short tons); even the smallest of the group, the northern minke whale, reaches 9 tonnes (9.9 short tons).
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