The
pygmy right whale (
Caperea marginata) is a member of the
cetotheres, a family of
baleen whales, which until 2012 were thought to be extinct; previously
C. marginata was considered the sole member of the
family Neobalaenidae. First described by
John Edward Gray in 1846, it is the smallest of the
baleen whales, ranging between and in length and 3,000 and 3,500 kg in mass. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale may have more in common with the
gray whale and
rorquals than the
bowhead and
right whales.