Omura's Whale

Omura's whale (Balaenoptera omurai) is a species of rorqual about which very little is known.

The scientific description of this whale was made in the November 20, 2003, edition of Nature (426, 278–281) by three Japanese scientists, Shiro Wada, Masayuki Oishi and Tadasu K. Yamada. The three scientists determined the existence of the species by analysing the morphology and mitochondrial DNA of nine individuals—eight caught by a Japanese research vessel in the late 1970s in the Indo-Pacific and a further specimen collected in 1998 from Tsunoshima island in the Sea of Japan. Later abundant genetic evidence confirmed Omura's whale as a valid species and revealed it to be an early offshoot from the rorqual lineage, diverging much earlier than the Bryde's and sei whales. It is perhaps more closely related to its larger cousin, the blue whale.

The common name and specific epithet commemorates Japanese cetologist Hideo Omura.

In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World, the "species" is relegated to being a synonym of Balaenoptera edeni. However the authors note that this subject to a revision of the genus. The database ITIS lists this as a valid taxon, noting a caveat on the disputed systematics of this species, Balaenoptera edeni and Balaenoptera brydei.