![World's smallest baleen whale is the last of its kind 1 Pygmy right whales are the smallest of the baleen whales](https://i0.wp.com/images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/14182652/SEI_164102522.jpg?resize=696%2C464&ssl=1)
Pygmy right whales are the smallest of the baleen whales
Marko Steffensen/Alamy
One of the most unusual baleen whale species alive today is part of a lonely lineage that stretches back up to 20 million years. The species may be the last descendant of an ancient family of whales.
The pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) – native to ocean waters in the southern hemisphere – has long puzzled researchers. Growing to only 6.5 metres long, it is the smallest baleen whale species, says Felix Marx at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
Pygmy …