Sometimes taxonomists create new names for groups that already have a name. They may do this because they are unaware of the original name, or they may think the organism before them belongs to a different group when in fact it does not. If two or more names are found to apply to the same group, they are considered synonyms. In most cases, the first name takes priority and is considered to be the valid or accepted name. However, there can be exceptions, and it's not always easy to determine which of a series of synonyms should be considered valid or accepted. Here we list the synonyms provided to EOL by our classification partners. We also include other versions of the name that most likely refer to the same group, for example, misspellings in the literature or different variations of the authorship associated with the name.

Preferred marks the preferred name from each source.

World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)

Name Relationship
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Balaena antipodarum Tomilin, 1957 Synonym
Balaena antiquorum Fischer, 1829 Synonym
Balaena boops Linnaeus, 1758 Synonym
Balaena mysticetus major Kerr, 1792 Synonym
Balaena physalis Kerr, 1792 Synonym
Balaena physalus Linnaeus, 1758 Basionym
Balaena quoyi Fischer, 1829 Synonym
Balaena rostrata australis Desmoulins, 1822 Synonym
Balaena sulcata Neill, 1811 Synonym
Balaenoptera antarctica Gray, 1846 Synonym
Balaenoptera aragous Farines & Carcasonne, 1829 Synonym
Balaenoptera australis Gray, 1846 Synonym
Balaenoptera blythii Anderson, 1879 Synonym
Balaenoptera brasiliensis Gray, 1846 Synonym
Balaenoptera gibbar Lacépède, 1804 Synonym
Balaenoptera mediterraneensis Lesson, 1828 Synonym
Balaenoptera mediterranensis Cabrera, 1961 Synonym
Balaenoptera musculus Van Beneden & Gervais, 1880 Synonym
Balaenoptera patachonica Lahille, 1905 Synonym
Balaenoptera patachonicus Burmeister, 1865 Synonym
Balaenoptera patagonica Dabbene, 1902 Synonym
Balaenoptera quoyii Lonnberg, 1906 Synonym
Balaenoptera rorqual Lacépède, 1804 Synonym
Balaenoptera sulcata arctica Schlegel, 1841 Synonym
Balaenoptera swinhoii Gray, 1866 Synonym
Balaenoptera tenuirostris Sweeting, 1840 Synonym
Balaenoptera velifera Cope, 1869 Synonym
Balaenoptera velifera copei Elliot, 1901 Synonym
Balaenopteris guibusdam Tomilin, 1957 Synonym
Benedenia knoxii Gray, 1864 Synonym
Dubertus rhodinsulensis Tomilin, 1957 Synonym
Physalis vulgaris Fleming, 1828 Synonym
Physalus antarcticus Gray 1850 Synonym
Physalus australis Gray, 1850 Synonym
Physalus brasiliensis Gray, 1850 Synonym
Physalus dugundii Heddle, 1856 Synonym
Physalus fasciatus Gray, 1850 Synonym
Physalus patachonicus Burmeister, 1866 Synonym
Physalus verus Billberg, 1828 Synonym
Pterobalaena communis Van Beneden, 1857 Synonym
Pterobalaena gigantea michrochira Barkos, 1862 Synonym
Rorqualus musculus F. Cuvier, 1836 Synonym
Sibbaldius tectirostris Cope, 1869 Synonym
Sibbaldius tuberosus Cope, 1869 Synonym
Swinhoia chinensis Gray, 1868 Synonym

Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Name Relationship
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Balaena physalus Linnaeus, 1758 Original name/combination

Paleobiology Database

Name Relationship
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Balaena physalus Linnaeus, 1758 Valid
Benedenia knoxii Gray, 1864 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera gibbar Lacepede 1804 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera rorqual Lacepede 1804 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera antiquorum Gray 1846 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera brasiliensis Gray, 1846 Heterotypic synonym
Physalus brasiliensis (Gray 1846) Heterotypic synonym
Physalus duguidii Gray 1864 Heterotypic synonym
Physalus fasciatus Gray, 1850 Heterotypic synonym
Physalus patachonicus Burmeister, 1866 Heterotypic synonym
Swinhoia chinensis Gray, 1868 Heterotypic synonym
Physalus antiquorum (Fischer 1829) Heterotypic synonym
Balaena antiquorum Fischer, 1829 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera patachonica Burmeister, 1865 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera patachonicha (Burmeister 1865) Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera velifera Scammon and Cope 1869 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera physalus quoyi Fisher 1829 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera quoyi (Fisher 1829) Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera velifera copei Elliot, 1901 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera copei (Elliot 1901) Heterotypic synonym
Balaena sulcata arctica Schlegel 1841 Invalid
Balaenoptera arctica (Schlegel 1841) Invalid
Balaena sulcata Neill, 1811 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera blythi Anderson 1879 Heterotypic synonym
Balaenoptera boops (Linnaeus 1758) Heterotypic synonym
Balaena boops Linnaeus, 1758 Heterotypic synonym

NCBI Taxonomy

Name Relationship
Balaenoptera physalus Preferred
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) Authority

Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: April 2013

Name Relationship
Balaenoptera physalus (Linnaeus, 1758) Preferred
Balaena physalus Linnaeus, 1758 Synonym

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