World Cetacea Database - Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)

(of Balaena novaeangliae Borowski, 1781) Borowski, G. H. (1781). Gemeinnüzzige Naturschichte des Tierreichs. G. L. Lange, Berlin and Stralsund. 2: 1-196., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28342430
page(s): 21 [details]

Type data

Note Coast of New England, U.S.A.

From editor or global species database

Type locality Coast of New England, U.S.A. [details]

Descriptive notes

Distribution Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean

Distribution Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]

Distribution in all oceans

Distribution in all oceans [details]

Taxonomic citation

Fordyce, E.; Perrin, W.F. (2023). World Cetacea Database. Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781). Accessed at: https://www.marinespecies.org/cetacea/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137092 on 2023-12-10

Taxonomic edit history

Date

action

2004-12-21 15:54:05Z

created

van der Land, Jacob

2008-08-20 11:25:36Z

checked

Perrin, William

[taxonomic tree]

original description (of Balaena novaeangliae Borowski, 1781) Borowski, G. H. (1781). Gemeinnüzzige Naturschichte des Tierreichs. G. L. Lange, Berlin and Stralsund. 2: 1-196., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28342430
page(s): 21 [details]

context source (Bermuda) Sterrer, W. (1986). Marine fauna and flora of Bermuda: a systematic guide to the identification of marine organisms. Wiley-Interscience Publication. Wiley. 742 pp (Nemertini part). [details] Available for editors

basis of record van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376 (look up in IMIS) [details]

additional source Mead, J. G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). Cetacea. In Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. 723--743., available online at http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/ [details]

additional source Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication. 4., available online at http://www.marinemammalscience.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MarineMammalsOfTheWorld.pdf [details]

additional source Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. (246): 1-259., available online at https://doi.org/10.5479/si.03629236.246 [details]

additional source Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, available online at http://www.iucnredlist.org [details]

additional source Perrin, W.F.; Würsig, B.; Thewissen, J.G.M. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Second edition. Academic Press: London. ISBN 978-0-12-373553-9. xxix, 1316 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details]

additional source Clapham, P. J. and J. G. Mead. (1999). Megaptera novaeangliae. Mammalian Species 604:1--9. [details]

additional source Stacey, P. J. and P. W. Arnold. (1999). Orcaella brevirostris. Mammalian Species 616:1--8. [details]

additional source King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554. [details]

additional source Schmidly, D. J. and B. Würsig. 2009. Mammals (Vertebrata: Mammalia) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1343–1352 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details]

additional source Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp. (look up in IMIS) [details] Available for editors

additional source Maio, N.; Maione, V.; Sgammato, R. (2016). First record of a Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Cetacea Balaenopteridae). Biodiversity Journal. 7(1): 33-38. [details]

additional source Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). , available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]

ecology source Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H.L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéque, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C.W.; Mooney, T.A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L.K.; Rice, A.N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Sprie, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M.J.G. Underwater Soniferous Behavior Trait Provided in the World Register of Marine Species. (In preparation). [details]

Present

Inaccurate

Introduced: alien

Containing type locality

From editor or global species database

Diet herring (Clupea harengus), sand lance (Ammodytes sp.) and other small fish, invertebrates (euphausiids) [details]

Habitat Inshore on feeding and calving grounds, but high seas in transit between them. [details]

Holotype None in existence. Name based on the "baleine de la Nouvelle Angleterre" of Brisson (1756). [details]

IUCN Red List Category subpopulation Arabian Sea humpback whale : Endangered (EN) [details]

IUCN Red List Category subpopulation Oceania humpback whale : Endangered (EN) [details]

IUCN Red List Category Least Concern (LC) [details]

Morphology Distinguishing characteristics: colour in the northern hemisphere is dark with white belly and on flippers, but southern hemisphere whales have more white. Sensory knobs on head. Lifts tail when diving. Variably curved dorsal fin midback on a hump. "Knuckles" or bumps along tail stock of thin whales. Flippers may reach length of 4.5 m (15'). Individuals recognized by underside of flukes and body scars/markings. [details]

Predators Killer whale tooth marks evident on adults; calves probably taken. [details]

Type locality Coast of New England, U.S.A. [details]

From other sources

Dimensions Length: male 36-57 1/2' (11-17.5 m), female 36-62 1/2' (11-19 m), at birth 15'+ (4.6 m+) [details]

Distribution Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]

Distribution in all oceans [details]

Reproduction Calving: January to March in Caribbean; Weaning: one year [details]

Language	Name
Afrikaans	boggelwalvis	[details]
Aleut	khi-tkhukkhalkhiamakaliamak	[details]
Catalan	lubartabalena geperuda	[details]
Chukot	kaipokak uiiut	[details]
Czech	keporkak dlouhoplautvýkeporkak	[details]
Danish	stubhvalpukkelhvalbuckelhval	[details]
Dutch	langarmvinvischbultrug	[details]
English	hunchback whalehunchhumpback whalehumpbunch whale	[details]
French	rorqual noueuxrorqual keporkakrorqual du Capmégapterejubartebaleine tamponbaleine à taquetbaleine à bosse	[details]
German	Pflockfischlanghaendige WalKnurrwalBuckelwal	[details]
Icelandic	skeljungurhnufubakur	[details]
Indonesian	paus bongkok	[details]
Italian	megatterabalena gobba	[details]
Japanese	ザトウクジラzato kujira	[details]
Kalaallisut	keporkak	[details]
Korean	hog-deung-gorae	[details]
Latvian	valzius	[details]
Lithuanian	kuprotasis banginis	[details]
Malagasy	trozona be trafo	[details]
Modern Greek (1453-)	Μεγάπτερη φάλαιναΜεγάπτερη	[details]
Norwegian	stor rorhvalknølhvalknölhval	[details]
Norwegian Bokmål	knølhval	[details]
Norwegian Nynorsk	knølkval	[details]
Polish	pletwaldługopłetwiec	[details]
Portuguese	jubartebaleia-corcundabaleia jubarte	[details]
Russian	горбатый китveselyi kitgorbatyi kitgorbachdlinnorukyi polosatik	[details]
Slovenian	kit grbavec	[details]
Southern Balochi	abra	[details]
Spanish	yubartarorqual jorobadojorobadajibartegubartaguabarteballena jorobadaballena de aletas grandesballena cantoraambaqui	[details]
Swahili (individual language)	chongoe	[details]
Swedish	puckelvalknölvalhnunfurbakur	[details]
Turkish	kambur balina	[details]
Ukrainian	Кит горбатийГорбачГорбатий китГорбань	[details]
Welsh	morfil cefngrwm	[details]
Yupik languages	kaipokakaghvesiiq	[details]