Endangered Fish and Wildlife; Notice of Technical Revision to Right Whale Nomenclature and Taxonomy Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act

NMFS is issuing a final rule concerning the nomenclature and taxonomy of the North Atlantic right whale, North Pacific right whale, and the southern right whale. The first change updates the formerly- used genus Balaena to the genus Eubalaena to conform to the taxonomy currently accepted by the scientific community and supported by the scientific literature. The second change reflects the genetic distinctiveness now recognized between Pacific and Atlantic right whale populations in the northern hemisphere. Due to recent genetic findings, NMFS is changing the species name of the northern right whale as follows: the North Atlantic right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, and the North Pacific right whale, Eubalaena japonica. These technical changes will not change the listing status of these species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA)(all three remain "endangered").