Balaenoptera fossil map
Where fossils of Balaenoptera have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04 million years ago to the present (Aquitanian to Holocene) |
| Periods | Neogene, Quaternary |
| Family | Balaenopteridae |
| Named by | (Lacépède 1804) |
| Fossil records | 382 occurrences at 175 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Japan, United Kingdom, Denmark, Italy, Thailand, Spain, Australia, O6, Chile … |
| Rock formations | txn:42977, Namba, Yorktown, San Diego, Purisima, Calvert |
About Balaenoptera
Balaenoptera (from Latin balaena 'whale' and Ancient Greek πτερά (pterá) 'fin') is a genus of rorquals containing eight extant species. Balaenoptera comprises all but two of the extant species in its family (the humpback whale and gray whale); the genus is currently polyphyletic, with the two aforementioned species being phylogenetically nested within it.
This genus is known in the fossil records from the Neogene to the Quaternary (13.65 million years ago to the present).
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Balaenoptera (revision 1354793873), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q133320.
