Right whale

Right whales; Temporal range: Miocene–recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Southern right whale breaching
	Size compared to an average human
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Balaenidae
Genus:	Eubalaena; Gray, 1864
Type species
	Eubalaena australis; Desmoulins, 1822
Species
	E. australis – Southern; (Desmoulins, 1822); †E. ianitrix Bisconti, Lambert, and Bosselaers, 2017; E. glacialis – North Atlantic; (Müller, 1776); E. japonica – North Pacific; (Lacépède, 1818); †E. shinshuensis; Kimura & Narita, 2007;
	E. glacialis ranges E. australis range E. japonica range
Synonyms
	Baloena Robineau, 1989; Halibalaena Gray, 1873; Hunterius Gray, 1866; Hunterus Gray, 1864; Macleayanus Marschall, 1873; Macleayius Gray, 1865;

The right whales (Eubalaena spp.), also known as the black whales are baleen whales with bow-shaped lower jaw and a head that is up to one-quarter of the body length. The head is hairier than most whales; up to 300 hairs are found on the tip of the lower jaw and 100 are on the upper jaw. There are also callosities (a series of horny growths) behind the blowhole, on the chin, above the eyes, on the lower lip, and on the rostrum (the beak-like upper jaw).

Description

Right whales are similar to bowhead whales, but smaller. These whales are rich in blubber and have 2 blowholes. The eyes are very small and lips are large. Right whales were named by whalers who considered them the "right" whales to hunt, since they were rich in blubber, they were easy to catch (they are relatively slow swimmers) and they floated after being killed.

History

Hunters needed the right whale's blubber for meat, because blubber could be boiled to make oil. The right whale's name came from hunters, who thought that they were the "right" whales to hunt. This was because they had lots of blubber. They were also easy to catch (because they were relatively slow swimmers) and they floated on the surface of the water after being killed. Because of these things, right whales are the most endangered of the great whales.

References

↑ "Fossilworks". Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
↑ Mead, J.G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). "Order Cetacea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 723–743. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
↑ Bisconti M, Lambert O, Bosselaers M. (2017) Revision of “Balaena” belgica reveals a new right whale species, the possible ancestry of the northern right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, and the ages of divergence for the living right whale species. PeerJ 5:e3464 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3464
↑ Reilly, S.B.; Bannister, J.L.; Best, P.B.; Brown, M.; Brownell, R.L. Jr.; Butterworth, D.S.; Clapham, P.J.; Cooke, J.; Donovan, G.P.; Urbán, J.; et al. (2008). "Eubalaena glacialis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2012.old-form url
↑ Reilly, S.B.; Bannister, J.L.; Best, P.B.; Brown, M.; Brownell, R.L. Jr.; Butterworth, D.S.; Clapham, P.J.; Cooke, J.; Donovan, G.P.; Urbán, J.; et al. (2008). "Eubalaena japonica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2012.old-form url
↑ Kimura, T.; Narita, K. (2007). "A new species of Eubalaena (Cetacea: Mysticeti: Balaenidae) from the Gonda Formation (latest Miocene-early Pliocene) of Japan". Bulletin of the Gunma Museum of Natural History. 11: 15–27.

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[Fossilworks-1] "Fossilworks". Archived from the original on 2021-01-15. Retrieved 2021-03-03.

[msw3-2] Mead, J.G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). "Order Cetacea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 723–743. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.

[3] Bisconti M, Lambert O, Bosselaers M. (2017) Revision of “Balaena” belgica reveals a new right whale species, the possible ancestry of the northern right whale, Eubalaena glacialis, and the ages of divergence for the living right whale species. PeerJ 5:e3464 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.3464

[iucn-glacialis-4] Reilly, S.B.; Bannister, J.L.; Best, P.B.; Brown, M.; Brownell, R.L. Jr.; Butterworth, D.S.; Clapham, P.J.; Cooke, J.; Donovan, G.P.; Urbán, J.; et al. (2008). "Eubalaena glacialis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2012.old-form url

[iucn-japonica-5] Reilly, S.B.; Bannister, J.L.; Best, P.B.; Brown, M.; Brownell, R.L. Jr.; Butterworth, D.S.; Clapham, P.J.; Cooke, J.; Donovan, G.P.; Urbán, J.; et al. (2008). "Eubalaena japonica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2012.old-form url

[6] Kimura, T.; Narita, K. (2007). "A new species of Eubalaena (Cetacea: Mysticeti: Balaenidae) from the Gonda Formation (latest Miocene-early Pliocene) of Japan". Bulletin of the Gunma Museum of Natural History. 11: 15–27.

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