小露脊鲸（Caperea marginata）是小露脊鲸科唯一的成员，也是须鲸中体型最小的一种。小露脊鲸身长约4-6.5公尺，重3,000-3,500公斤，由约翰·爱德华·格雷（John Edward Gray）于1864年第一次描述。虽然被称为小露脊鲸，但是其实牠们比较接近灰鲸与须鲸科，反而与弓头鲸或真露脊鲸属关系较远。

小露脊鲸生活在南半球的中、高纬度海域，以磷虾、桡足类（Copepod）为主食。目前对小露脊鲸的生活形态所知不多，与其他大部分的须鲸不同的是：小露脊鲸不曾是捕鲸业的目标之一。

The pygmy right whale (Caperea marginata) is a member of the cetotheres, a family of baleen whales, which until 2012 were thought to be extinct; previously C. marginata was considered the sole member of the family Neobalaenidae. First described by John Edward Gray in 1846, it is the smallest of the baleen whales, ranging between 6 metres (20 ft) and 6.5 metres (21 ft) in length and 3,000 and 3,500 kg in mass. Despite its name, the pygmy right whale may have more in common with the gray whale and rorquals than the bowhead and right whales.