If a blue whale was born a different color, would it still be called a blue whale

Imagine if an individual blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) was for some reason born with green or yellow pigmentation, perhaps owing to some genetic fluke, would we still refer to it as a blue whale?

The species itself is named blue whales (although I always thought they seem kinda grey) so just a different colour won't make a difference to the name. Pigment variation is rare but can occur

Yes.


Biological pigments, also known simply as pigments or biochromes are substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from selective color absorption. Biological pigments include plant pigments and flower pigments. Many biological structures, such as skin, eyes, fur and hair contain pigments such as melanin in specialized cells called chromatophores


One example is menlasim. Take the Eastern Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) for example, although sometimes they can turn black from menlasim, they can still be called an Eastern Grey Squirrel, right.


The overall answer is: yes.

Yes, because it has the same inherited genes from it's parents and the same characteristics as a blue whale. So it's going to act like a blue whale.

Yes, because that it the type of whale. And even if it is not a different colour, it is still the same species.

Yes, blue whale is the name of the species. If it was green it would simply be referred to as a 'green blue whale'

I guess that yes because she is a blue whale , so it's like not being a human if you are blonde or brunette .