d
string of black spots; upper belly; patches of yellowish to
jaw lacks the "rock garden." pink callosities and lice
encrusting the snout in what
has been called a "rock
garden."

BALEEN PLATES

325-360 per side; plates to 14 250-390 per side 12
inches (35.6 cm) at base and inches (30.5 cm) at base and
longest plates up to 14 feet up to 7.2 feet (2.2 m) long.
(4.3 m) long. Dark gray or Dirty gray with black fringes;
black with gray fringes; some anterior plates
anterior margin of some partly or completely white.
plates whitish, showing
green iridescence in sunlight.

BONNET AND OTHER CALLOSITIES

Not present. Present.

[Illustration: Figure 43.--Swimming adult bowhead whales, particularly
males, often show two characteristic humps or curves to the back--one on
the head, ending just behind the blowholes, and a larger curve from just
behind the blowholes to near the flukes; the second is accentuated when
the animal humps up to begin a dive. (_Photo by J. Lentfer._)]

[Illustration: Figure 44.--Bowhead whales have no dorsal fin. The back
is smooth and black, though often irregularly spaced white or grayish
scars of unknown origin appear. (_Photos by J. Lentfer._)]

[Illustration: Figure 45.--The unusually shaped head and the broad lower
jaw, colored by a broad white vest, are evident in the swimming bowhead
whale (left) and in both members of the copulating pair (right). Also
evident on the animal to the far left is the "string of black beads"
which is sometimes found in the white region. (_Photos by J. Lentfer._)]

[Illustration: Figure 46.--A harpooned bowhead whale (this one from the
Alaskan population). Note the high arching upper jaw of the species.
Bowhead whales have up to at least 360 plates per side, far more than
the black right whale. The longest plates, located near the middle of
each jaw, are reported to reach 12 feet (3.7 m), or more, in length.
(_Photo by D. R. Patten._)]

RIGHT WHALE (B)

_Eubalaena glacialis_ (Borowski 1781)

Other Common Names

Black right whale, Biscayan right whale, Biscay whale, Nordcaper right
whale.

Description

These right whales reach a length of about 53 feet (16.2 m).

The body is rotund and completely lackin