Balaena mysticetus (Bowhead whale, Greenland right whale, arctic whale)

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Introduction

Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia Subclass: Eutheria, Order: Cetacea, Suborder: Mysticeti Family: Balaenidae, Genus: Balaena, Species: B. mysticetus

Closely related to or subspecies or right whale.

Description: -robust-bodied, dark-coloured animals with no dorsal fin

strongly bowed lower jaw and narrow upper jaw
baleen plates, exceed three meters are the longest of the baleen whales
massive bony skulls used to break from beneath the ice to breathe - whales may be able to surface through 60 cm (2 ft) of ice
lengths of up to 20 meters
females are larger than males.
blubber layer of whale flesh is thicker than in any other animal, averaging 43-50 cm (17-20 in)
slow swimmers
may stay below the water surface for up to 40 minutes in a single dive, but not thought to be deep divers

Range:

Bowhead Whales are the only baleen whales that spend their entire lives in and around Arctic waters

Social:

sexual activity occurs between pairs & in boisterous groups of several males & 1-2 females
breeding has been observed from March through August; conception is believed to occur primarily in March
reproduction can begin when a whale is 10-15 years old
females produce a calf once every 3-4 years, after a 13-14 month gestation
newborn calf is about 4.5 m long & approximately 1000 kg (2,200 lb), growsto 9 m by its 1st birthday

60-70 years, similar to other whales
based on structures in the whale's eye, it is suggested that at least some individuals may live 150-200 years
female Bowhead Whales are believed to go through menopause

Population status:

Bowhead whales have been hunted since at least that 18th century
characteristics of slow swimming & floating after death makes them targets of commercial whaling
some populations are endangered
only predators are humans & orcas