To examine the movements of Bryde's whales, Balaenoptera edeni, in coastal waters off Japan, satellite tagging was conducted off Kochi, the southwest coast of Tosa Bay from 2004 to 2008, and off Nomaike, on the southwest coast of the Satsuma Peninsula in 2005. Using an air gun, an Argos satellite tag was attached on the animal from a whale watching boat. A total of 20 shots were taken at 17 individuals, and tags were successfully attached to 11. Geographical locations from the Argos Satellite were obtained from seven animals. The maximum tracking period was 30 days in Tosa Bay, and 40 days off Nomaike. Most individuals stayed in the same waters for at least several weeks in the summer season (July to August). However, one individual moved from Tosa Bay to the Kii Peninsula, and one from Nomaike to the Goto Islands in the East China Sea. No animals moved to the offshore waters across the Kuroshio Current. This result supports the current classification of the stock of coastal Bryde's whales (the East China Sea Stock). Further technical improvements are necessary to increase the tagging success rates and extend the tracking period to investigate movements and distributional ranges of Bryde's whales in the coastal waters off Japan.

The North Atlantic and North Pacific minke whales are regarded as two different subspecies. In this study we aimed to clarify the morphological differences of the white patch on the flipper between these subspecies. Morphological measurements were taken from the left flipper of sexually mature animals, collected from the North Atlantic (N=15) and the North Pacific (N=16) oceans. The length between the tip of flipper to the distal border of the white patch relative to the total flipper length showed no statistical differences between the two subspecies. However, the length between the tip of flipper to the proximal border of white patch relative to the total flipper length was significantly larger in the North Atlantic (74.31%) as compared to the North Pacific (63.62%) minke whales. Also, the mean angle between the proximal boundary line of the white patch and the longitudinal axis of the flipper was significantly different between the North Atlantic (70.05 degrees) and the North Pacific (92.29 degrees) minke whales. These results show that there are clear morphological differences in the white patch of the flipper between the two minke whale subspecies.

Although it has long been assumed that modern cetaceans lack nervous system structures that mediate olfaction, recent studies suggest that mysticetes still maintain olfactory nerves. We collected samples of the mucous membrane covering the cribriform plate at the bottom of the dorsal nasal meatus from a mature female common minke whale. The samples were then thin-sectioned and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Microscopic observations revealed that the mucosa was covered with a pseudostratified columnar epithelium with vessels, glands, and nerve plexuses in its lamina propria. These histological characteristics resembled those of the olfactory epithelium in terrestrial mammals, suggesting that mysticetes do indeed possess a sense of smell.