Humpback Whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
(meg-APT-ur-uh noh-vee-ANG-lie-ee)

Statistics

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Megaptera novaeangliae
MEANING: Megaptera "long-finned";  novaeangliae "of New England"
RANGE: All oceans
LENGTH: (Male) 15 meters (50 feet);  (Female) 16 meters (53 feet)
WEIGHT: 34-45 tons
DIET: Surface dwelling crustaceans and small, schooling fish

Description

The humpback is the most uniquely shaped of the rorquals (groove-throated whales). Whereas most members of this family are rather smooth and cigar-shaped, the humpback is stout and hunched in profile. The extreme development of the pectoral flukes (flippers), which may be equal to one-third the body length, the numerous fleshy knobs distributed about the head and flippers, and the serrated rear margin of the tail flukes contribute to a very distinctive looking whale.

Like all of the great whales, the humpbacks' numbers have been drastically thinned due to unchecked whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries, a practice which continues right up to the present day. If left unmolested, it is likely that this species would be able to survive, though not in anywhere near its former numbers.

Migratory patterns for this whale are well known. Along with the gray whale, it is probably one of the most frequently observed of the great whales. Like the gray and right whales, it tends to favor shallower, coastal waters and is very rarely found stranded, presumably due to its familiarity with shallow water conditions.