Species guide
Common minke whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern — assessment published .
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Small, slim, sleek dark body with pale underside and pale chevrons behind head
- Sharply pointed snout, flattened rostrum with longitudinal ridge on head
- Size
- Maximum length: 9.8 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including April 2025.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- Lacépède, 1804
- Family
- Balaenopteridae
- Cetacean group
- Mysticeti
Sightings in Madeira
The 2012 checklist distinguishes minke-whale sightings from strandings. Both types of record establish presence, but not the same kind of encounter. Historical evidence.
Our April 2025 trip report lists this species. This is an operator observation, not a population estimate.
No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records. The months in individual reports should not be treated as the limits of a season.
ID characteristics
Small, slim, sleek dark body with pale underside and pale chevrons behind head
Sharply pointed snout, flattened rostrum with longitudinal ridge on head
Flippers are relatively short with pointed tips and normally have a white band in the middle
Dorsal fin is tall and falcate
Surface behaviour
When surfacing the snout breaks the water first at low angle, followed by the blow and smooth body roll.
For diving it arches almost vertically, exposing tailstock high with dorsal fin still visible
Distribution
Northern hemisphere between the equator and 70º North
Tropical, temperate and polar waters of the Northern hemisphere
Social
Alone or on a group up to 3 individuals
Diet
Krill, crustaceans and fish
Biometrics
Max length: 9.8 m
Adult weight: 5 to 15 ton
Blow
Short, up to 2 meters high and not very visible
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Baleia de Minke, Baleia anã, Baleote, Baleia-minke, Finbeque (nos Açores)
- German: Zwergwal, Minkwal
- French: Baleine de Minke, Petit rorqual, Baleinoptère à museau pointu
- Spanish: Ballena de Minke, Rorcual Menor, Rorcual aliblanco, Ballena enana
- Italian: Balenottera minore, Balenottera rostrata
- Dutch: Dwergvinvis
- Polish: Płetwal karłowaty
- Swedish: Vikval
- Danish: Vågehval
- Norwegian: Nordleg vågekval, Nordlig vågehval
Other English names
Northern Minke whale, Lesser rorqual, Little piked whale
Names vary by language and region. This list is not exhaustive. Multilingual name records.
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Balaenoptera acutorostrata — global species assessment, published 2018.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: November 2018 assessments — Global assessment publication years and category changes. A category change need not indicate a recent population change.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.