Taxon name
Balaenoptera edeni
Anderson, 1879
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Balaenoptera edeni
Anderson, 1879
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Mammals
Species authority
Anderson, 1879
Taxonomic notes and synonyms listed
Rice's Whale (Balaenoptera ricei) is a distinct evolutionary lineage closely related to Eden's Whale (Balaenoptera edeni edeni), Bryde's Whale (B. e. brydei) and Sei Whale (Balaenoptera borealis) (Rosel et al. 2021). Previously considered an undescribed subspecies of Balaenoptera edeni and referred to as the Gulf of Mexico Whale or the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's Whale, a recent morphological study of Rice's Whale has revealed diagnostic differences in the shape and size of bones in the skull in comparison to the two subspecies of B. edeni. This morphological evidence reinforced earlier findings of significant genetic divergence and fixed DNA differences found in several mitochondrial DNA genes; together these data supported the description of the new species B. ricei . With elevation of Rice's Whale to species status, there is still uncertainty as to whether Eden's Whale and Bryde's Whale, each of which is clearly distinct, represent subspecies of B. edeni or full species.
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Data deficient
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
Whilst Bryde's Whale is probably the most common large whale in the Gulf, in UAE waters there are just 3-4 records of strandings on the Gulf coast and no recent records for the east coast, though it has recently been recorded very nearby, off the Musandam Peninsula, Oman. There is insufficient information available on population size or trends of this species in UAE waters, hence it is assessed as Data Deficient. No regional adjustment is made to the Data Deficient assessment.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
URL (link) of redlist assessment or publication
https://www.moccae.gov.ae/assets/download/b352eff1/UNRL%20of%20Mammals%20-%20Report%202019.pdf.aspx?view=true
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Bryde's Whale is probably the most common large whale in the Arabian Gulf (Braulik et al. 2010, R. Baldwin pers. comm. 2018). However, in UAE waters, the species is known from just three confirmed and one possible stranding records; one from 2010 of an individual estimated to be six years old on Al Radim Island, Abu Dhabi; a second at Al Manzar, and two strandings at Jebel Ali, Dubai, in 2010-2012 (one was a ship strike). There is a possible fourth stranding record, from Ras Al Khaimah in March 2018; one of the two whales found might be Balaenoptera omurai (R. Brownell Jr. pers. comm. 2018). There are no recent records for the east coast, but it is relatively commonly recorded in the Gulf of Oman south of the UAE border (Baldwin et al. 1999, Baldwin 2005) and presence is likely in UAE waters. Females and young have been observed off Musandam on more than one occasion (R. Baldwin pers. comm. 2018). Bryde's Whales occur in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans between about 40'°N and 40'°S (Cooke and Brownell Jr. 2018).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
Seen feeding in the Gulf of Oman and observed as individuals and in pairs (Baldwin et al. 1999). Bryde's Whales caught by Soviet whalers in the mid-1960s in the Arabian Sea fed mainly on myctophids, mackerel, and sardines (Mikhalev 2000).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
The main threats to cetaceans in UAE waters include: incidental mortality in trawl, drift and anchored gill nets, depletion of prey populations (due in part to commercial overfishing); ship and boat strikes, disturbance due to underwater noise (including that from vessel traffic, drilling, piling, military operations and seismic activity related to offshore oil and gas exploration). Inshore and shallow-water species are further potentially threatened by entanglement in abandoned fishing gear, coastal development including port and harbour construction, dredging, land reclamation, residential and tourist development, and pollution (especially hydrocarbons). A lack of information (e.g. population size and trend, the location of critical habitats, and feeding ecology) hinders the development of appropriate conservation actions, but this should be used as an excuse for inaction.
History
The backcasted 1996 assessment for this species is Data Deficient which matches the listing given by Hornby (1996).
Publication
Mallon, D., Hilton-Taylor, C., Allen, D., & Harding, K. (2019). UAE National Red List of Mammals: Marine and Terrestrial. A report to the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates (p. 41). IUCN Global Species Programme. https://bit.ly/2RdZCQR
