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| Gulf of Mexico Bryde's Whale Photo: Doug Perrine, Bancroft Media as posted on Twitter by @MissionBlue |
The name "Bryde" comes from Johan Bryde, a Norwegian who built the first whaling stations in South Africa and founded the South African Whaling Company more than a century ago.
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| Rice Whale stranding (beaching) on small island in Everglades, January 2019. The whale died and research on its remains led to discovery of new species of Cetacean, Rice Whales. Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
Baleen Whales
Baleens, named after baleen plates on the side of their mouths that serve as strainers, include such well-known species as the blue, humpback and bowhead whales. They are considered one of the "great whales," or rorquals, a group that also includes blue whales and humpback whales.
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| Rice Whale Artist's Representation Gulf of Mexico Bryde's Whale Credit: NOAA Fisheries |
Byrde's Like Whales
Bryde's‐like whales are a complex of medium‐sized baleen whales that occur in tropical waters of all three major ocean basins. Currently, a single species of Bryde's whale, Balaenoptera edeni Anderson, 1879, is recognized, with two subspecies, Eden's whale, B. edeni edeni and Bryde's whale, B. edeni brydei (Olsen, 1913), although some authors have recognized these as separate species.
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| Byrde's Like Whale Photo: Brandon Cole |
Bryde’s whales are found in warm, temperate oceans including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. Some populations of Bryde's whales migrate with the seasons, while others do not migrate, making them unique among other migrating baleen whales.
Bryde’s whales are vulnerable to many stressors and threats, including vessel strikes, ocean noise, and whaling outside the United States. The Gulf of Mexico subspecies is also threatened by oil and gas activities, as well as oil spills and cleanup. Scientists believe that there are fewer than 100 Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whales.
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| Rice Whale, Gulf of Mexico Image: NOAA Fisheries |
Protection
All Bryde’s whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. In 2019, NOAA listed the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
Read the April 6, 2020 "A Report on Designating Critical Habitat for the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale (Balenoptera edeni) under the Endangered Species Act."
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| Dr. Patricia Rosel, NOAA Fisheries studying remains of Everglades Rice Whale specimen |
Research
A research geneticist scientist, Dr. Patricia Rosel, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service performed detailed research on the remains of the dead Everglades whale and her research revealed the whale was actually a new species of baleen whale living in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rosel, along with her colleagues Lynsey A. Wilcox, Tadasu K. Yamada, and Keith D. Mullin, published the findings in the journal Marine Mammal Science in January.
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| Dr. Patricia Rosel, NOAA Fisheries studying remains of Everglades Rice Whale specimen |
In 2014, Rosel began researching whether some Bryde’s whales found in the Gulf of Mexico were actually another species. She had noticed there were genetic differences in some of the samples from the mammals she and her colleagues researched in the lab.
“But, to do a species designation, you want to be able to do multiple lines of evidence, and common for marine mammals, that other line of evidence for identifying a new species is skull morphology,” Rosel said.
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| Rare Rice Whale dies in Everglades Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
Rice Whales
Scientists are calling the mammals Rice whales (Balaenoptera ricei), after biologist Dale Rice, who was the first to recognize that Bryde’s whales lived in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientist's best guess is that the tiny group of endangered whales includes less than 100 individuals.
The evolutionarily divergent lineage of Bryde's‐like whale was identified based on genetic data and was found to be restricted primarily to the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOMx).
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| Rare Rice Whale dies in Everglades Flamingo boat ramp. The death of this whale lead to discovery of new species. Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
In A new species of baleen whale (Balaenoptera) from the Gulf of Mexico, with a review of its geographic distribution Rosel et al. provide the first morphological examination of a complete skull from these whales and identify diagnostic characters that distinguish it from the other medium‐sized baleen whale taxa. In addition, they have increased the number of genetic samples of these Bryde's‐like whales in the GOMx from 23 to 36 individuals, all of which matched the GOMx lineage. A review of Bryde's‐like whale records in the Caribbean and greater Atlantic supports an isolated distribution for this unique lineage, augmenting the genetic and morphological body of evidence supporting the existence of an undescribed species of Balaenoptera from the Gulf of Mexico.
Behavioral differences were also noted in the paper. Unlike their ocean-going cousins, Rice Whales have never been seen feeding at the surface. A suction-cup tag attached to one of the whales in 2010 found that the whale stayed within 15 meters of the surface at night and repeatedly dived deep during the day, sometimes with "lunges near the seafloor associated with foraging." This type of bottom feeding is unusual among baleen whales. It was speculated the individual might have been foraging for lanternfish and hatchetfish that are abundant at the depths the tagged whale was recorded.
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| Rare Rice Whale dies in Everglades Flamingo boat ramp. The death of this whale lead to discovery of new species. Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
The new species retains its protected status under the Endangered Species Act as it was previously listed as an endangered subspecies (Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale). It is also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. To date, there are fewer than 100 of these whales remaining, making them critically endangered. If the name Rice’s whale is formally accepted by the Society for Marine Mammalogy Committee on Taxonomy, NOAA Fisheries will go through the regulatory process to update the name used in the endangered species listing.
A formal acceptance would make the Rice whale the 15th species of baleen whale, according to NOAA.
It’s not clear how long Rice whales live, but based on the life expectancy of Bryde’s whales, they could live up to 60 years, Rosel said.
They grow to between 40 and 55 feet, weigh about 90,000 pounds, and live in water from 100 to 400 meters deep, or 328 to more than 1,300 feet in depth, according to the NOAA.
Scientists speculate that their habitat is the northeastern part of the Gulf of Mexico.
“That’s where they are most regularly seen, though regularly is hard to say because they’re rare, so it’s not like they’re easy to see,” Rosel said.
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| Rare Rice Whale dies in Everglades Flamingo boat ramp. The death of this whale lead to discovery of new species. Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
Behavior and Diet of Byrde's Whale
Bryde’s whales are usually seen alone or in pairs. Nonetheless, there have been reports of up to 20 whales loosely grouped together in feeding areas.
Research suggests that Bryde’s whales spend most of the day within 50 feet of the water’s surface. They commonly swim at one to four miles per hour, but can reach speeds of 12 to 15 miles per hour. They dive for about 5 to 15 minutes, with a maximum dive duration of 20 minutes, and can reach depths up to 1,000 feet. They do not display their flukes when diving.
Bryde’s whales eat an estimated 1,320 to 1,450 pounds of food per day. Their diet consists of krill, copepods, red crabs, shrimp, as well as a variety of schooling fishes, such as herring, mackerel, pilchards, and sardines. Bryde's whales use different methods to feed in the water column, including skimming the surface, lunging, and creating bubble nets.
Bryde’s whales can blow water 10 to 13 feet into the air when at the water’s surface. They sometimes exhale while underwater as well. Additionally, Bryde’s whales can change directions unexpectedly when swimming. They sometimes generate short, powerful sounds that have low frequencies and sound like "moans."
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| Rare Rice Whale dies in Everglades Flamingo boat ramp. The death of this whale lead to discovery of new species. Photo: NOAA Fisheries |
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