Why is the fin whale called the fin whale?

Answer 1

Here are some facts about fin whales:

• Fin whales feed mainly on krill but also eat schooling fish including herring,cod, mackerel, pollock, sardine, and capelin. Fish are eaten more often in winter.
• The fin whale is the fastest swimming of all the large whales and is sometimes referred to as the "greyhound of the seas." Fin whales can swim at up to 30 mph (48 kmh) in short bursts when alarmed and at up to 18 mph (30 kmh) when migrating and cruising.
• The fin whale can dive for up to 20 minutes at a time, and to depths reaching 1800 feet.
• Fin whales are often found swimming alone or in small pods of up to 8, although they may be found swimming with larger groups of whales during feeding periods.
• The population is between 50,000 and 90,000
• The average gestation period for these whales is about 12 months
• Females are larger than the males by 5-10% Can weigh between 40 and 80 tons.
• They are the second largest living animal and species of whale on earth behind the blue whale.
• This species has a global distribution but is quite rare in tropical or iced polar seas. It occurs in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic Oceans.
• The species is split into two subspecies which do not appear to come into contact, one in the south (B. p. quoyi) and one in the north (B. p. physalus).
• They are also known as Common rorqual, Finback, Fin-backed whale, Finner, Herring Whale and Razorback.
• They are part of the Balaenopteridae family.
• Fin whales can take up to 30 years to reach full physical maturity and may live for 90 years or longer.

Answer 2

It is called the "fin whale" or "finback" because of its prominent dorsal fin. It was first referred to as "finfisch" by Friderich Martens in 1675 to distinguish it from species hunted by whalers that lacked dorsal fins (e.g. bowhead and right whales).

Answer 3

Because it has a prominent dorsal fin.