in taxon minke whale antarctic minke whale MSW3:14300013 The Antarctic minke whale or southern minke whale (*Balaenoptera bonaerensis*) is a species of minke whale within the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second smallest rorqual after the common minke whale and the third smallest baleen whale. Although first scientifically described in the mid-19th century, it wasn't recognized as a distinct species until the 1990s. Once ignored by whalers due to its small size and low oil yield, it is now one of the mainstays of the whaling industry alongside its cosmopolitan counterpart the common minke. It is the most abundant baleen whale in the world, numbering in the hundreds of thousands. It is primarily restricted to the Southern Hemisphere (although vagrants have been reported in the North Atlantic) and feeds mainly on euphausiids. balaenoptera bonaerensis southern minke whale Balaenoptera bonaerensis requires discussion