e north as far as the southern
limits of the bowhead whale and beyond, they usually do so in the spring
and summer, at a time when the bowhead whales are farther to the north.
Even if they are encountered together, bowhead whales can be
distinguished from all the balaenopterid whales by the absence of a
dorsal fin. Bowhead whales have neither a fin nor the slightest trace of
a dorsal fin or ridge, while all the balaenopterids have a dorsal fin;
and their back is extremely smooth, like that of the right whale. The
bowhead and right whales may be readily distinguished from one another
by the characters listed below for stranded specimens.

Distribution

Though bowhead whales in the western North Atlantic were once
distributed from Arctic waters, from the edge of the ice, south as far
as the Strait of Belle Isle and the St. Lawrence River in such abundance
that they were once referred to simply as "the whale," overwhaling
through the 19th century until as recently as 1911 has severely reduced
their numbers and restricted their modern range. Today in addition to
the more abundant populations of the Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi seas
and the Sea of Okhotsk, there are populations off eastern Greenland and
in Davis Straits, Baffin Bay, James Bay, and the adjacent waters. Within
these ranges, bowhead whales move southward in front of the advancing
ice floes and may be expected near the southern limits of their range
from September or October through the early spring months. Populations
in the western North Atlantic appear to be increasing slowly.

Stranded Specimens

In addition to the fact that their ranges may overlap only slightly if
at all, bowhead whales may be distinguished from the other right whales
of the western North Atlantic by differences in 1) primary distribution,
2) coloration, 3) lengths of the longest baleen plates, and 4) presence
of callosities.

BOWHEAD WHALE RIGHT WHALE

DISTRIBUTION

Arctic distribution south to Texas, southwest Florida
Davis Straits only during north to Iceland, reaching
winter. northern limits only during
spring and summer.

COLORATION

Black with white "vest" on Sometimes black often
front part of lower jaw, brown or mottled with regions
sometimes containing a of white on chin an