Balaena mysticetus Linnaeus, 1758. Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1:75.
TYPE LOCALITY: "Habitat in Oceano Groenlandico" (= Greenland Sea).
DISTRIBUTION: Northern Hemisphere: arctic waters. Strays have occured in Japan, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Massachusetts.
STATUS: CITES - Appendix I; U.S. ESA - Endangered; IUCN - Vulnerable.
COMMENTS: Reviewed by Reeves and Leatherwood (1985).