Blue whale (Large adult)
27.1 m (88.91 ft)
Total length
The largest animal that has ever lived. Measured nose to tail notch. Large adults reach about 27 m; 95% of whales measured by whalers were shorter.
Published
How big is that?
27.1 m is 15 times an adult man and 54% of an Olympic pool.
Blue whale is the largest of the 31 Prehistoric Giants objects, and the 48th largest of the 109 objects across all three SizeItUp games.
Closest in size from the other games: Tennis court (Classic), 23.77 m long and Basketball court (FIBA) (Classic), 28 m long.
Size comparison
To scale, smallest to largest: Blue whale in orange beside the Prehistoric Giants objects nearest in size, in teal.
| Object | Size | vs Blue whale |
|---|---|---|
| SpinosaurusThe sail-backed river hunter of Cretaceous North Africa, measured nose to tail. | 14 m long | 52% of the size |
| Diplodocus (Dippy, NHM London)Dippy, the Natural History Museum's famous Diplodocus cast, measured head to tail. | 26 m long | about the same |
| Blue whale (Large adult) | 27.1 m long | – |
In other units
| Centimetres | 2,710 |
|---|---|
| Metres | 27.1 |
| Inches | 1,067 |
| Feet | 88.91 |
| Yards | 29.64 |
How it's measured
Total length. 95th percentile of measured whaling records.
Body length runs from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail, following the spine.
Sources
- peerj.com: McClain et al. 2015, PeerJ: quantiles 75% 25.3 m, 90% 26.5 m, 95% 27.1 m.
Checked against the source on .
Could you have guessed it by eye?
Blue whale is one of the objects in Prehistoric Giants, a daily size comparison game: you stretch a shape to the size you think is right beside one you know.