North Atlantic right whale

Eubalaena glacialis · The North Atlantic right whale is a large baleen whale that migrates between feeding grounds in the Labrador Sea and winter calving areas off Georgia and Florida.

Also called Northern right whale, Black right whale.

North Atlantic right whale
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain
North Atlantic right whale
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain
North Atlantic right whale
Photo: Public domain, Public domain

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderArtiodactyla
FamilyBalaenidae
GenusEubalaena
SpeciesEubalaena glacialis

Where it lives

Western North Atlantic coasts, from the Labrador Sea and Bay of Fundy south to Georgia and Florida in winter.

Fun facts

  • Right whales have rough white patches called callosities on their heads, and these patches are home to large colonies of whale lice.
  • A right whale's head makes up about a quarter of its body length, and its v-shaped blowhole makes a heart-shaped blow.
  • Up to forty-five percent of a right whale's body weight is blubber, so its body floats after death.
  • Each side of the upper jaw holds 200–270 baleen plates, each about 3 metres long and covered in very thin hairs.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).