Authority citation

Anderson, J. 1879. 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. First Volume–Text. Bernard Quaritch, London, 984 pp.

Authority publication link

Original name as described

Balaenoptera edeni

Other common names

Tropical Whale · Small-form Bryde's Whale · Sittang Whale

Type material

ZSI 19398

Type kind

holotype

Type locality

Burma (= Myanmar), "found its way into the Thaybyoo Choung, which runs into the Gulf of Martaban between the Sittang and Beeling Rivers, about equidistant from each."

Biogeographic realm

Marine

Country distribution

Myanmar · India · Bangladesh · Thailand · Malaysia · Indonesia · Cambodia · Vietnam · China · Taiwan · Japan · Australia? · Papua New Guinea? · Solomon Islands?

Taxonomy notes

previously included B. brydei and populations now attributed to B. ricei; this taxonomic arrangement has not been accepted by some researchers given that there is ongoing nomenclatural controversy associated with the holotype of B. brydei and discussion over whether the three should be considered distinct species or subspecies

Taxonomy notes citation

Rosel, P.E., Wilcox, L.A., Yamada, T.K. and Mullin, K.D. 2021. A new species of baleen whale (Balaenoptera) from the Gulf of Mexico, with a review of its geographic distribution. Marine Mammal Science 37(2):577-610. doi:10.1111/mms.12776 · Lin, Y. T., Hui, F., Han, W., Li, Y. X., Heung, B. Y. W., How, C. M., ... & Qiu, J. W. (2025). Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of Eden's Whale Clarifies the Taxonomy and Speciation of Bryde's Whale Complex. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 42(10), msaf234. · Davis, R.W. 2026. Rice's Whale: Considerations for Identifying New Cetacean Species. Marine Mammal Science 42(1):e70112.

IUCN Red List status

Least Concern

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