What is the biggest whale?

The Blue Whale: Earth’s Largest Animal

The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) holds the title of the biggest whale and the largest animal ever known to have existed — larger than any dinosaur. Adult blue whales typically measure 70 to 90 feet (21 to 27 meters) long, with the largest individuals reaching up to 100 feet (30 meters). They can weigh as much as 200 tons (181 metric tonnes).

Ranking the Largest Whale Species

While the blue whale is the undisputed champion, several other whale species are also impressively large:

Rank	Species	Max Length	Max Weight
1	Blue whale	100 ft (30 m)	200 tons
2	Fin whale	85 ft (26 m)	80 tons
3	Sperm whale	60 ft (18 m)	45 tons
4	Right whale	60 ft (18 m)	70 tons
5	Bowhead whale	60 ft (18 m)	75 tons
6	Humpback whale	55 ft (17 m)	40 tons
7	Gray whale	49 ft (15 m)	40 tons
8	Sei whale	52 ft (16 m)	28 tons
9	Bryde’s whale	46 ft (14 m)	25 tons
10	Orca	26 ft (8 m)	6 tons

The Largest Baleen Whales

Baleen whales (Mysticeti) include most of the largest whale species. These filter feeders use plates of baleen to strain enormous quantities of krill and small fish from seawater.

Blue whale: The blue whale surpasses all others in both length and weight. Its heart alone weighs about 400 pounds, and its tongue can weigh as much as an elephant.

Fin whale: The second-largest animal on Earth, fin whales are sometimes called the “greyhounds of the sea” because they can reach speeds of up to 25 mph (40 km/h). They are more slender than blue whales but still impressively massive.

Humpback whale: While not as long as blue or fin whales, humpback whales are among the most recognizable whales due to their long pectoral fins, distinctive humped backs, and spectacular breaching behavior.

The Largest Toothed Whale

Among toothed whales (Odontoceti), the sperm whale is by far the largest. Males can reach 60 feet (18 meters) and weigh up to 45 tons. Sperm whales are famous for their enormous heads, which make up about one-third of their total body length, and for diving to depths of over 3,000 feet (900 meters) to hunt giant squid.

The orca is the largest member of the dolphin family but is considerably smaller than the sperm whale.

Blue Whales vs. Dinosaurs

One of the most remarkable facts about blue whales is that they are larger than any dinosaur that ever lived. The heaviest dinosaurs — sauropods like Argentinosaurus and Patagotitan — are estimated to have weighed 70 to 80 tons, less than half the weight of a large blue whale. The longest dinosaurs may have stretched to similar lengths as blue whales, but they could not match them in total mass.

The reason is simple: water provides buoyancy that supports a blue whale’s weight in ways that land never could. An animal weighing 200 tons simply could not support itself on legs.

Are Blue Whales Getting Bigger or Smaller?

Historical whaling records suggest that blue whales today may be somewhat smaller on average than they were before commercial whaling in the 20th century. Intensive hunting removed many of the largest individuals from the population, and scientists believe this selective pressure may have shifted the average size downward. However, the species is slowly recovering, and the current global population is estimated at 10,000 to 25,000 individuals.

For more about blue whale dimensions, see how big is a blue whale.