Common Name: Bowhead Whale
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family:
Balaenidae
Genus:
Balaena
Species:
Bowhead whale Balaena mysticetus
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Taxonomy/Description
Bowhead whales belong to
the Mammalian Order Cetacea, in the suborder Mysticeti. All baleen
whales belong to the suborder Mysticeti, which is Latin for
"mustached whales". The bowhead whale belongs to the right whale
family, Balaenidae. The bowhead whale's scientific name is
Balaena mysticetus. Whalers called these whale species the
"right" whales because they were the "right" whales to hunt since
they did not sink when killed. Other members of this family include
the pygmy right whale and right whale. Its generic name, Balaena,
means "whale". The bowhead whale's specific name, mysticetus,
means "mustached whale", referring to the whale's baleen plates.
The term "bowhead" refers to the whale's highly curved mouth, which
resembles the shape of an archer's bow. This animal is easily
identified by this extremely arched mouth, as well as its lacking
dorsal fin and elevated blowhole. A bowhead whale's head is about
one-third its body length, reaching 16 feet in length, 12 feet in
height and eight feet in width. Its tongue weighs about one ton.
The bowhead whale is the largest member of Balaenidae. Bowhead
whales may exceed 60ft in length and 60 tons in weight. Female
bowhead whales are usually larger than males of the same age.
Habitat/Diet
Bowhead whales inhabit
the arctic waters of the far north. Early American whalers called
this species the Greenland right whale. Bowhead whales feed on a
variety of planktonic organisms, including copepods, euphausiids,
amphipods and krill. To ingest these surface-dwelling organisms,
the bowhead whale strains water at the ocean's surface with its
650-720 baleen plates. The bowhead's baleen is the largest of any
whale species, reaching 14 feet in length and 12 inches in width.
These plates are composed of keratin, the same substance of
fingernails and hair. The ends of baleen are brush-like, preventing
the prey from escaping. The prey remains inside, and is
consequently swallowed.
Behavior/Reproduction
Bowhead whales usually
live alone or in small groups of no more than six animals. They
migrate annually, following the receding arctic ice flows. Beluga
whales occasionally migrate with the bowheads. Calving occurs
during the spring and summer. Gestation is about 13-14 months.
Newborn calves range between 11-18ft in length. Young bowhead
whales nurse for 9-12 months. The natural predators of bowhead
whales are humans and killer whales. Bowheads are slow swimmers,
and when alarmed move beneath the ice to keep safe.
The recent discovery of
stone harpoon tips in the blubber of some bowhead whales has lead
researchers to re-evaluate the lifespan of bowheads. Indigenous
peoples of the Arctic stopped using stone tipped harpoons after the
arrival of metal harpoon tips. The Arctic peoples obtained metal
harpoons from Europeans whalers during the 18th century. This would
indicate that some bowhead whales have exceeded one hundred years in
age! Further chemical analysis of bowhead whale structures has lead
some scientists to affirm that a single male bowhead lived to 211
years. Such a great age makes bowhead whales the longest living
mammal species.
Conservation
The bowhead whale has
been protected since 1946, due to overhunting which drove it near
extinction. The original bowhead whale population was estimated to
be between 20,000 and 40,000. The population of the bowhead whales
in the western Arctic is currently estimated to exceed 7,500, while
the population living in the eastern Arctic numbers only a few
hundred.