courtesy of J. G. Mead._)]

Large Whales Without a Dorsal Fin

BOWHEAD WHALE (B)

_Balaena mysticetus_ Linnaeus 1758

Other Common Names

Greenland whale, Arctic right whale, great polar whale.

Description

Bowhead whales, so-called because of the high-arching jaws and the
resultant contour of the head, reach a maximum length of about 65 feet
(19.8 m). They are extremely robust in form.

When viewed from the side, some swimming bowhead whales show two
characteristic curves to the back: the first extends from the tip of the
snout to just behind the blowholes; the second, encompassing the entire
back, begins just behind the head and extends all the way to the tail.
This character may be present only in adult animals and may be more
pronounced in males. Younger animals, particularly females, are often
stubbier and somewhat barrel-shaped behind the head. In all animals the
back is smooth, lacking even a trace of a dorsal fin.

The head of the bowhead whale is smooth, black, and without the bonnet
and the "rock-garden," the colorful clusters of callosities
characteristic of the black right whale. The blowholes are widely
separated, and the blow emanating from them projects upward as two
separate, distinct spouts. Though two separate columns sometimes may be
visible under windless conditions in the blows of most mysticetes, this
feature is exaggerated and is most characteristic in the bowhead and
right whales.

Bowhead whales are black overall, except for a white "vest" of uneven
coloration on the chin. Within that vest, near the sides of the white
zone, there may be a series of grayish black to black spots, which on
some animals have been likened to a string of beads. The vest is clearly
visible when a surfacing animal is viewed from the front or the side or
when the animals hang vertically in the water with the head on the
surface and the tail flukes down, as they do during periods of early
spring mating.

Natural History Notes

Bowhead whales are usually found singly or in groups of up to three
animals, though fall concentrations may include up to 50 animals.

Bowhead whales sometimes breach, throwing most of the body clear of the
surface and reentering with a resounding splash.

May Be Confused With

Bowhead whales are the only species of large whales found routinely in
Arctic waters. Though other species, including some of the balaenopterid
whales and the right whale, may ventur