Passage: Blue whales are rorquals (family Balaenopteridae), a family that includes the humpback whale, the fin whale, Bryde's whale, the sei whale, and the minke whale. The family Balaenopteridae is believed to have diverged from the other families of the suborder Mysticeti as long ago as the middle Oligocene (28 Ma ago). The blue whale lineage diverged from the other rorquals during the Miocene, between 7.5 and 10.5 million years ago. However, gene flow between the species appears to have continued beyond that date. The blue whale has the greatest genetic diversity of any baleen whale, and a higher than average diversity among modern mammals. The longest known genetically blue whale is a partial fossil in southern Italy, dating to between 1.25 and 1.49 million years ago. The family Balaenopteridae is believed to have diverged from the other families of the suborder Mysticeti as long ago as the middle Oligocene (28 Ma ago). The blue whale lineage diverged from the other rorquals during the Miocene, between 7.5 and
Nyangumi mwenye nundu, nyangumi mwenye manyoya, nyangumi anayeitwa Bryde, nyangumi anayeitwa sei, na nyangumi anayeitwa minke