Omura's Whale

Balaenoptera omurai

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetartiodactyla
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Species: Balaenoptera omurai

Omura's whale (Balaenoptera omurai) is a slender rorqual about 10 to 12 m long, only formally described in 2003. Like the fin whale, its lower jaw is asymmetrically coloured, pale on the right and dark on the left, and it has a single central ridge on top of the head.

It lives in tropical coastal and shelf waters, feeding on plankton and small fish, and is usually seen alone or in pairs. Because it was long confused with Bryde's whale, much about its behaviour and range is still being learned.

In the Philippines Omura's whale is known from only a small number of records, mostly strandings and specimens, and live sightings remain rare. Any well-documented encounter is valuable for researchers trying to understand its distribution.

Photo: Patrick O'Brien, CC BY 4.0, via iNaturalist