blue whale vs
Balaenoptera musculus compared with Cocconeis pinnata
Key Differences
- blue whale is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.
Taxonomic Classification
| Rank | blue whale | |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia (動物) | Chromista (クロミスタ) |
| Phylum | Chordata (脊索動物) | Ochrophyta (オクロ植物) |
| Class | Mammalia (哺乳類) | Bacillariophyceae (クサリケイソウ綱) |
| Order | Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins) | Achnanthales (Achnanthales) |
| Family | Balaenopteridae (Rorquals) | Cocconeidaceae |
| Genus | Balaenoptera (Rorquals) | Cocconeis |
| Species | Balaenoptera musculus | Cocconeis pinnata |
Conservation Status
blue whale
VU — VulnerablePopulation: ~15.0K
Trend: Increasing ↑
Physical Characteristics
| Attribute | blue whale | |
|---|---|---|
| Diet | Carnivore | — |
| Average Lifespan | 90 years | — |
| Average Length | 30.0 m | — |
| Average Weight | 150.0 t | — |
Habitat & Geographic Range
blue whale
Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 11 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.
Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.
Native to Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.
Distributed across Brazil, Norway, and Sweden.
blue whale
地球上で生きたことが知られている最大の動物であるシロナガスクジラ(Balaenoptera musculus)は、体長33メートル、体重200トンに達することができ、心臓だけで小型自動車ほどの重さがあります。全ての海洋に生息し、極地の餌場と熱帯の繁殖地の間を回遊します。1日最大4トンのオキアミを摂取する濾過摂食者です。20世紀の捕鯨による絶滅危機からの回復後、世界的な個体数は10,000〜25,000頭と推定される絶滅危惧種です。
Cocconeis pinnata is a marine and brackish-water diatom in the family Cocconeidaceae, distinguished within the genus by the pinnate (feather-like) arrangement of its striae and the specific valve morphology of its silica frustule. As an adnate epiphyte, C. pinnata attaches to a wide variety of substrates in coastal and estuarine environments, including seagrass blades, macroalgal surfaces, sandy sediments, and biogenic hard substrates such as shells and coral rubble. The species has been documented from tropical and subtropical marine habitats across the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic, with records from South American coastal waters as well as other warm marine regions. Cocconeis pinnata plays a significant ecological role in seagrass ecosystems, where epiphytic diatom communities including this species form a productive biofilm layer on leaf surfaces that serves as food for grazing invertebrates, sea urchins, and small fish. In areas of excessive nutrient loading, however, proliferation of epiphytic algae including diatoms can shade out the underlying seagrass, contributing to meadow decline. The production and dissolution of silica frustules by marine benthic diatoms contributes to the benthic silica cycle, linking biological productivity with the geochemistry of shallow coastal sediments. Species-level identification of Cocconeis taxa requires electron microscopy due to subtle morphological differences. Conservation status has not been formally assessed.
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