Bryde's whale: Difference between revisions

'''Bryde's whale''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|r|ʊ|d|ə|z}} {{respell|BRUU|dəz}} '''Brooder's'''),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Bryde%27s+whale|title=Definition of BRYDE'S WHALE|website=www.merriam-webster.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite webnews| url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/hauraki-gulf-thar-she-blows/WBYQ6FV2WDCEVNNOTN47QIVKPY/| title=Hauraki Gulf: Thar she blows| author=Helen Van Berkel| date=13 December 2009| access-date=21 August 2021| website=[[nzherald.co.nz]]| quote=Bryde's (pronounced Brooder's)}}</ref> or the '''Bryde's whale complex''', putatively comprises three species of [[rorqual]] and maybe four. The "[[Species complex|complex]]" means the number and classification remains unclear because of a lack of definitive information and research. The common Bryde's whale ('''''Balaenoptera brydei''''', Olsen, 1913) is a larger form that occurs worldwide in warm temperate and tropical waters, and the '''Sittang''' or '''Eden's whale''' ('''''Balaenoptera edeni''''', Anderson, 1879) is a smaller form that may be restricted to the [[Indo-Pacific]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=The MarineBio.org|title=Bryde's Whales, ''Balaenoptera edeni''|url=http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=167|access-date=2015-02-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909021752/http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=167|archive-date=9 September 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Also, a smaller, coastal form of ''B. brydei'' is found off southern Africa, and perhaps another form in the Indo-Pacific differs in skull morphology, tentatively referred to as the '''Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale'''. The recently described [[Omura's whale]] (''B. omurai'', Wada et al. 2003), was formerly thought to be a pygmy form of Bryde's, but is now recognized as a distinct species. [[Rice's whale]] (''B. ricei''), which makes its home solely in the [[Gulf of Mexico]], was once considered a distinct population of Bryde's whale, but in 2021 it was described as a separate species.

In 1878, the Scottish zoologist [[John Anderson (zoologist)|John Anderson]], first curator of the [[Indian Museum, Kolkata|Indian Museum]] in [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], described ''Balaenoptera edeni'', naming it after the former British High Commissioner in [[Burma]], Sir [[Ashley Eden]], who helped obtain the type specimen. Eden's Deputy Commissioner, Major A.G. Duff, sent a Mr Duke, one of his assistants, to Thaybyoo Creek, between the [[Sittaung River|Sittang]] and Beeling Rivers, on the [[Gulf of Martaban]], where he found a {{convert|37-foot|ft|adj=on|order=flip}} whale, which had stranded there in June 1871 after swimming more than {{convert|20 miles|mi|order=flip}} up the creek—it was said to have "exhausted itself by its furious struggles" to get free and "roared like an elephant" before finally expiring. Despite terrible weather, he was able to secure almost the entire skull and nearly all its vertebrae, along with other bones. These were sent to Anderson, who described the specimen, which was physically mature, as a new species.<ref name="Anderson">Anderson, J. (1878). Anatomical and Zoological Researches: Comprising an Account of the Zoological Results of the Two Expeditions to Western Yunnan in 1868 and 1875; and a Monograph of the Two Cetacean Genera, ''Platanista'' and ''Orcaella''. ''Quaritch'' London. {{doi|10.5962/bhl.title.50434}}</ref> In 1913, the Norwegian scientist Ørjan Olsen, based on the examination of a dozen "sei whales" brought to the whaling stations at [[Durban]] and [[Saldanha Bay|Saldanha]], in South Africa, described ''Balaenoptera brydei'', naming it after the Norwegian consul to South Africa Johan Bryde.<ref name="Olsen">{{cite journal | last1 = Olsen | first1 = Ørjan | year = 1913 | title =On the external characters and biology of Bryde's Whale (''Baloenoptera brydei''), a new Rorqual from the coast of South Africa | journal = Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London | volume = 1913 | pages = 1073–1090 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/70344#/summary |doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1913.tb02005.x}}</ref> In 1950, the Dutch scientist G.C.A. Junge, after comparing specimens of ''B. edeni'' and ''B. brydei'' with a {{convert|39-foot|ft|adj=on|order=flip}}, physically mature specimen that had stranded on Pulau Sugi, an island between [[Singapore]] and [[Sumatra]], in July 1936, synonymized the two species into ''B. edeni''.<ref name="Anderson" /><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Junge | first1 = G.C.A. | year = 1950 | title = On a specimen of the rare fin whale, ''Balaenoptera edeni'' Anderson, stranded on Pulu Sugi near Singapore | url = http://www.repository.naturalis.nl/document/148868 | journal = Zoologische Verhandelingen | volume = 9 | issue = 1 | pages = 3–26 }}</ref>

Several differences in anatomy are found between Bryde's and Eden's whales; morphological similarities have caused confusions regarding species identification.<ref>SLAM - Sri Lanka's Amazing Maritime. [http://www.slam.lk/eden-s-whale New Great Whale: Eden’s Whale in Sri Lankan Waters?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122134748/http://www.slam.lk/eden-s-whale |date=22 January 2021 }}. Retrieved on 3 August 2017</ref>

Based on osteological features, a specimen from [[Taiwan]] was referred to ''B. brydei'', while several specimens from the [[Philippines]] and [[Indonesia]] differed slightly in skull morphology and were referred to the putative Indo-Pacific Bryde's whale.<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=Cooke, J.G. |author2=Brownell Jr. |author3=R.L. |date=2018 |title=''Balaenoptera edeni'' |volume=2018 |page=e.T2476A50349178 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T2476A50349178.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref><ref name="Yamada2006">Yamada, T. K., L.-S. Chou, S. Chantrapornsyl, K. Adulyanukosol, S. K. Chakravarti, M. Oishi, S. Wada, C.-J. Yao, T. Kakuda, Y. Tajima, K. Arai, A. Umetani & N. Kurihara (2006). "Middle sized balaenopterid whale specimens (Cetacea: Balaenopteridae) preserved at several institutions in Taiwan, Thailand and India". ''Memoirs of the National Science Museum'', Tokyo, 44:1–10.</ref><ref name=Yamada2008>Yamada, T. K., T. Kakuda & Y. Tajima (2008). "Middle-sized balaenopterid whale specimens in the Philippines and Indonesia". ''Memoirs of the National Science Museum.'' Tokyo, 45:75–83.</ref> Mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that Bryde's whales caught in the pelagic western North Pacific and [[Bonin Islands]] (resident population), as well as biopsy samples taken from whales off [[Hawaii]], the west coast of Baja California, and the southern Gulf of California, belonged to ''B. brydei''.<ref name=Goto2004>Goto, M., Kanda, N., & Pastene, L. A. (2004). "Analysis of mtDNA sequences in Bryde's whales from the central western North Pacific and Baja California Peninsula". SC/56/PF15. ''Unpublished report to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission''.</ref> Resident or semi-resident groups also exist off Hawaiian<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/sars/2013/po2013_brydeswhale-hi.pdf | title=Welcome to NOAA &#124; NOAA Fisheries}}</ref> and [[Northwestern Hawaiian Islands]],<ref name="CETACEAN ABUNDANCE IN HAWAIIAN WATERS DURING SUMMER/FALL OF 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Barlow |first1=Jay |title=Cetacean Abundance in Hawaiian Waters Estimated from a Summer/Fall Survey in 2002 |journal=Marine Mammal Science |date=April 2006 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=446–464 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2006.00032.x |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227636025 |access-date=21 January 2022}}</ref> and [[Northern Mariana Islands]].<ref name="FullingThorson2011">{{cite journal|last1=Fulling|first1=Gregory L.|last2=Thorson|first2=Philip H.|last3=Rivers|first3=Julie|title=Distribution and Abundance Estimates for Cetaceans in the Waters off Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands|journal=Pacific Science|volume=65|issue=3|year=2011|pages=321–343|issn=0030-8870|doi=10.2984/65.3.321|url=https://www.navymarinespeciesmonitoring.us/files/6313/8628/5792/Fulling_et_al_2011_Distribution_and_abundance_of_cetaceans_Guam_and_CNMI-MISTCS_Pacific_Science.pdf|hdl=10125/29732|s2cid=83766630|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

''B. brydei'' occurs throughout the Indian Ocean north of about [[35th parallel south|35°S]]. Those of the southern Indian Ocean appear to correspond to ''B. brydei'', as do the individuals illegally caught by the Soviets in the 1960s in the northwest Indian Ocean, as well as the [[Maldives]]. Individuals sighted in the [[Red Sea]] may or may not be ''B. brydei''.<ref name=IUCN /><ref name=Masseti>{{cite journal |last1=Masseti |first1=Marco |title=The mammals of the Farasan archipelago, Saudi Arabia |journal=Turkish Journal of Zoology |date=6 August 2010 |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=359–365 |url=https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/abstract.htm?id=10978 |doi=10.3906/zoo-0905-2 |doi-access=free |access-date=30 November 2020 |archive-date=28 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828220957/https://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/abstract.htm?id=10978 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the North Atlantic, they have been recorded as far north as [[Cape Hatteras]]. They occur throughout the wider [[Caribbean]]—two specimens from [[Aruba]] were found through mtDNA analysis to be firmly placed within ''B. brydei'' and to form a [[clade]] with a specimen from [[Madeira]] and individuals of the offshore form of South Africa. They were first recorded in the [[Azores]] in 2004 and showing mixed traits of offshore and inshore forms,<ref name=Steiner2007 /> but do not occur in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] (regarding the bones of a baleen whale found, Bryde's whale was listed as one of suggested species<ref>Small B. D.. 1995. [https://books.google.com/books?id=arV-lo3tW8UC&q=bryde%27s+&pg=PA257 Methods in the Mediterranean: Historical and Archaeological Views on Texts and Archaeology]. pp. 257. [[Brill Publishers]]. Retrieved on 9 September 2017</ref>). They appear to occur off Brazil year-round, such as around [[Rio de Janeiro]]—[[Cabo Frio|Cape Frio]],<ref name="Lodi et al 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Lodi |first1=Liliane |last2=Tardin |first2=Rodrigo H. |last3=Hetzel |first3=Bia |last4=Maciel |first4=Israel S. |last5=Figueiredo |first5=Luciana D. |last6=Simão |first6=Sheila M. |title=Bryde's whale (Cetartiodactyla: Balaenopteridae) occurrence and movements in coastal areas of southeastern Brazil |journal=Zoologia (Curitiba) |date=April 2015 |volume=32 |issue=2 |pages=171–175 |doi=10.1590/S1984-46702015000200009 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Armação dos Búzios]], entrance to [[Guanabara Bay]],<ref>Machado M.. 2014. [http://g1.globo.com/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2014/03/final-de-verao-do-rio-tem-rolezinho-de-baleias-em-busca-de-comida.html Final de verão do Rio tem 'rolezinho' de baleias em busca de comida]. Globo.com ([[:pt:Globo.com|pt]]). Retrieved on 18 September 2017</ref><ref>Lodi L.. 2016. [https://econserv.wordpress.com/2016/02/04/baleia-de-bryde-navegando-com-as-gigantes/ Baleia-de-bryde: Navegando com as gigantes]. Blog ECONSERV – Ecologia, Conservação e Serviços. Retrieved on 18 September 2017</ref><ref>Lima D. L.. 2016. [https://oglobo.globo.com/rio/frequentes-na-orla-do-rio-neste-verao-baleias-de-bryde-despertam-curiosidade-18587374 Frequentes na orla do Rio neste verão, baleias-de-bryde despertam curiosidade].Globo.com. Retrieved on 18 September 2017</ref><ref name="Lodi et al 2015"/> [[Ilha Anchieta State Park]], [[Ilha Grande]], and so on. Individuals of the inshore form off South Africa are also resident year-round, occurring mainly between Cape Recife and [[Saldanha Bay]], whereas the larger offshore form migrates to West African equatorial waters in the winter.<ref name=IUCN /><ref name=Steiner2007>{{cite journal |last1=Steiner |first1=Lisa |last2=Silva |first2=Monica A. |last3=Zereba |first3=Jasmine |last4=Leal |first4=Maria João |title=Bryde's whales, ''Balaenoptera edeni'', observed in the Azores: a new species record for the region |journal=Marine Biodiversity Records |date=January 2008 |volume=1 |pages=e66 |doi=10.1017/s1755267207007282 }}</ref><ref name=Luksenburg2012>Luksenburg, Jolanda A. and George Sangster. (2012). "Molecular identification of the first Bryde's whale (''Balaenoptera brydei'') for Aruba, southern Caribbean". ''The Cetaceans of Aruba: a Multidisciplinary Study'' 98.</ref> Regular occurrences have been noted around [[Cape Verde]] as well.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hazevoet |first1=Cornelis J. |last2=Monteiro |first2=Vanda |last3=López |first3=Pedro |last4=Varo |first4=Nuria |last5=Torda |first5=Gergely |last6=Berrow |first6=Simon |last7=Gravanita |first7=Barbara |title=Recent data on whales and dolphins (Mammalia: Cetacea) from the Cape Verde Islands, including records of four taxa new to the archipelago |journal=Zoologia Caboverdiana |date=2010 |volume=1 |pages=75–99 |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/16950/ }}</ref>

The population may include up to 90,000–100,000 animals worldwide, with two-thirds inhabiting the [[Northern Hemisphere]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}

Prior to 2006, only two confirmed sightings of Bryde's whale had been reported in the eastern North Pacific north of Baja California—one in January 1963, only a kilometer off [[La Jolla]] (originally misidentified as a fin whale), and another in October 1991 west of [[Monterey Bay]]. Between August 2006 and September 2010, six sightings were made by scientists in the [[Southern California Bight]]. Five were west of [[San Clemente Island]], and one between San Clemente Island and [[Santa Catalina Island (California)|Santa Catalina Island]]. All but one involved single individuals.<ref name="Smultea2012">{{cite journal |last1=Smultea |first1=Mari |title=Short Note: Bryde's Whale (''Balaenoptera brydei/edeni'') Sightings in the Southern California Bight |journal=Aquatic Mammals |date=1 March 2012 |volume=38 |issue=1 |pages=92–97 |doi=10.1578/am.38.1.2012.92 }}</ref> Another sighting was made off [[Dana Point, California]], on 19 September 2009, which was originally misidentified as a fin whale.

''Balaenoptera edeni'' is listed as least concern by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature|International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources]].<ref name=iucn1IUCN/>{{cite iucn | authors = Cooke, J.G. & Brownell Jr., R.L.

Modern whaling for Bryde's whales is thought to have begun from coastal stations in Japan in 1906, where it continued uninterrupted until 1987—they were also caught offshore in the western North Pacific by both Japanese (1971–79) and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] (1966–79) fleets, as well as from [[Taiwan]] (1976–80), the [[Bonin Islands]] (1946–52 and 1981–87), and the [[Philippines]] (1983–85). In 1997, an estimated over 20,000 Bryde's whales had been caught in the western North Pacific between 1911 and 1987 (the Japanese were later found to have falsified their reported take from the Bonin Islands between 1981 and 1987, reporting a catch of only 2,659 instead of the true take of 4,162). A population assessment done in the mid-1990s stated that the population in the western North Pacific may have declined by as much as 49% during 1911–96. Norwegian factory ships off Baja California took an additional 34 Bryde's whales between 1924 and 1929;<ref>{{cite book |last=Tønnessen |first=Johan |author2=Arne Odd Johnsen |author2-link=Arne Odd Johnsen |title=The History of Modern Whaling |year=1982 |publisher=University of California Press, Berkeley |isbn=978-0-520-03973-5 }}</ref> two were also caught off central California in 1966.<ref>[http://luna.pos.to/whale/sta_1966.html Whaling in 1965–66 and summer 1966 (IWS)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828232931/http://luna.pos.to/whale/sta_1966.html |date=28 August 2021 }}. Luna.pos.to. Retrieved on 2011-09-15.</ref>