Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are mammals, of the order Cetacea, which includes all whales, dolphins and porpoises. Cetaceans are further divided into the suborders Mysticeti, the baleen whales, which includes the humpback; and Odontoceti, the toothed whales, which includes toothed whales, dolphins and porpoises.
The distinctive hump is where the humpback gets its name.
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Like all mammals, including man, cetaceans are warm blooded, breathe air, and give birth to live young that they nurse from mammary glands. But unlike man and other terrestrial mammals, cetaceans are conscious breathers, meaning they have to actively choose when to take every breath of their lives.
The Humpback Whale, while not the largest whale in existence, is a large whale, ranging in length from 40 to 50 feet, and weighing in at 35-40 tons. They derive their common name, Humpback Whale, from the distinctive high humping of their back when they dive, and from the pronounced hump at the leading edge of their dorsal fin.
Their Latin species name, Megaptera novaeangliae, translates into "big-winged" (Mega: big; ptera: wing) "New Englander" (nova: new; eangliae: englander). This refers to their unusually long wing-like pectoral fins; and the region where they were first scientifically described in the 1780s, the rich waters of the whaling grounds of New England.
The Humpback Whale's Distinctive Features
A swimmer gets a close look at the distinctive pectoral fins of a female humpback whale and her calf
A swimmer gets a close look at the distinctive pectoral fins of a female humpback whale and her calf
A curious adult humpback whale gives guests aboard the tender a close look.
The humpback whale can be identified by its distinctive pectoral fin.
A curious young humpback whale uses its pectoral fins to maneuver.
Their most distinctive physical feature are their long pectoral fins, which average one third of the whale's total body length. Humpbacks are famous for their humpback whale song, the most sophisticated song in the animal kingdom. They are also very well known for their varied spectacular surface behaviors, and curious and sociable nature.
Migratory Habits of the Humpback Whale
Humpback whales are found in all the world's major oceans, and most populations are highly migratory. Humpback whale migration typically involves spending their summer months in high latitudes feeding, and then performing one of the longest known annual animal migrations when they travel thousands of miles to warm subtropical and tropical waters to calve and mate.
The whales of the Silver Bank are North Atlantic Humpback Whales, and are some of the same individuals one might encounter on a whale watching cruise off of Massachusetts' Stellwagan Bank, the coast of Maine, and further north into the waters of Iceland and Greenland, Newfoundland and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
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