Humpback whale

• Afrikaans • العربية • Asturianu • Azərbaycanca • বাংলা • Bân-lâm-gú • Беларуская • Беларуская (тарашкевіца) • Български • Brezhoneg • Català • Cebuano • Čeština • Cymraeg • Dansk • Deutsch • Diné bizaad • Eesti • Ελληνικά • Español • Esperanto • Euskara • فارسی • Føroyskt • Français • Gaeilge • Galego • 한국어 • Հայերեն • Hrvatski • Igbo • Bahasa Indonesia • Íslenska • Italiano • עברית • ಕನ್ನಡ • ქართული • Қазақша • Kotava • Кыргызча • Latina • Latviešu • Lëtzebuergesch • Lietuvių • Lingua Franca Nova • Magyar • Македонски • മലയാളം • مصرى • Bahasa Melayu • Монгол • Nederlands • 日本語 • Norsk bokmål • Norsk nynorsk • پنجابی • Polski • Português • Română • Русский • Shqip • Simple English • Slovenčina • Slovenščina • Српски / srpski • Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски • Suomi • Svenska • Tagalog • தமிழ் • ไทย • Türkçe • Українська • Vepsän kel’ • Tiếng Việt • Winaray • 吴语 • 粵語 • 中文 Subspecies • M. n. australis • M. n. kuzira • M. n. novaeangliae Humpback whale range (in blue) • Balaena gibbosa Erxleben, 1777 • B. boops Fabricius, 1780 • B. nodosa Bonnaterre, 1789 • B. longimana Rudolphi, 1832 • Megaptera longimana Gray, 1846 • Kyphobalaena longimana Van Beneden, 1861 • Megaptera versabilis Cope, 1869 The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of Megaptera. Adults range in length from 14–17m (46–56ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tons (44 short tons). The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long Found in Like other large whales, the humpback was a target for the...

These ocean giants are part of a group of baleen — or filter-feeding — whales called rorquals. The rorquals have expandable grooves, or throat pleats, that run from their jaws down to their umbilicus (belly button), giving them some of the stretchiest mouths in the animal kingdom. Humpbacks have especially long flippers for mobility, and their scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, means “great wing of New England," after their extended pectoral fins and the location where European whalers first spotted them. The common name "humpback whale" comes from the humps on their backs that are often visible as the whales dive. Size: Up to 60 feet long Life span: Up to 90 years Conservation status: Least concern Humpback whales can grow up to around 60 feet (18 meters) long and weigh up to 40 tons (36 metric tons), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. That's longer than a school bus and more than double the weight. As massive as they are, humpbacks are still much smaller than the largest whales, blue whales ( Balaenoptera musculus), which can grow up to 110 feet (34 m). Humpbacks have bumps called tubercles on their heads and fins. Each bump contains at least one stiff hair, according to the American Cetacean Society (ACS). Researchers are still learning about the tubercles, but these bumps may help the whales detect movement in the water. A 2011 study published in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology noted that tubercles m...

How big are humpback whales? Humpback whales grow to between 15 and 19 metres in length (about the size of a bus) and weigh approximately 40 tons. One of their most noticeable and distinctive features are their long and ungainly-looking pectoral fins (flippers). These can grow to nearly 5 metres long, making them relatively the longest flippers of any baleen whale. Where do humpback whales live? Humpback whales can be found in every ocean in the world, but are most concentrated in a band running from the Antarctic ice edge to 81° N latitude. Where they can be commonly fund also depends on the temperature and the time of year. In the summer many spend their time in high-latitude feeding areas such as the Gulf of Alaska or the Gulf of Maine, then in the winter they can be found in the warmer waters near to the equator . Can you see humpback whales in the UK? Humpbacks can be spotted near the southern tip of Shetland, Scotland. Many whale species migrate near the Shetland islands, and the best place to see them is 40-50 miles west of the islands where they pass on their way to visit feeding grounds, with June and July being peak periods. Do humpback whales have teeth? Humpbacks are baleen whales and therefore are devoid of teeth, which means that they have a specialised filter feeding systems inside their mouths instead. They filter their food through baleen plates, which are made up of fringed brushes which grow in rows from the upper jaw. What and how do humpback whales eat...