The
fin whale (
Balaenoptera physalus), also called the
finback whale,
razorback, or
common rorqual, is a marine
mammal belonging to the suborder of
baleen whales. It is the second-largest
animal after the
blue whale, the largest growing to long and weighing nearly .
American naturalist Roy Chapman Andrews called the fin whale "the greyhound of the sea... for its beautiful, slender body is built like a racing yacht and the animal can surpass the speed of the fastest ocean steamship."