The Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) feeds almost exclusively on krill, but it can also ingest copepods. Krill is a type of shrimp-like invertebrates that makes up a significant part of the zooplankton group in the oceans of the world. These tiny crustaceans are not only appreciated by the Blue Whale, they are eaten by animals such as Whale Sharks, Baleen Whales, Manta Rays and Crabeater Seals as well.
Blue Whales feeding in the Northern Atlantic will typically ingest krill from the genera Meganyctiphanes and Thysanoessa, while those feeding in the North Pacific relay chiefly on Thysanoessa, Euphausia, Nyctiphanes, and Nematoscelis. In the Antarctic, the dominating krill species in the stomach of Blue Whales are from the genus Euphausia.
