What is "right whale"

Right whale \Right" whale`\ (Zo["o]l.)

1. The bowhead, Arctic, or Greenland whale ( Bal[ae]na mysticetus), from whose mouth the best whalebone is obtained.

2. Any other whale that produces valuable whalebone, as the Atlantic, or Biscay, right whale ( Bal[ae]na cisarctica), and the Pacific right whale ( Bal[ae]na Sieboldii); a bone whale.

   Pygmy right whale (Zo["o]l.), a small New Zealand whale (Neobal[ae]na marginata) which is only about sixteen feet long. It produces short, but very elastic and tough, whalebone.

n. The baleen whales belonging to the family ''(taxlink Balaenidae family noshow=1)'', in the genera (taxlink Eubalaena genus noshow=1) (three species) and (taxlink Balaena genus noshow=1) (one species, the bowhead whale, also called the (vern Greenland right whale pedia=1)).

n. large arctic whalebone whale; allegedly the `right' whale to hunt because of its valuable whalebone and oil

Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus Eubalaena: the North Atlantic right whale (E. glacialis), the North Pacific right whale (E. japonica) and the Southern right whale (E. australis). They are classified in the family Balaenidae with the bowhead whale. Right whales have rotund bodies with arching rostrums, V-shaped blowholes and dark gray or black skin. The most distinguishing feature of a right whale is the rough patches of skin on its head which appear white due to parasitism by whale lice. Right whales can grow up to more than long with the maximum record of and weigh up to or more; with or with uncertainty, being significantly larger than other coastal species such as humpbacks, grays, or eden's and omura's, but smaller than blues. Right whales were named by whalers who identified them as the "right" whale to kill on a hunt due to the plentiful oil and baleen they could provide.

All three species are migratory, moving seasonally to feed or give birth. The warm equatorial waters form a barrier that isolates the northern and southern species from one another although at least the southern species have been known to cross the equator. In the Northern Hemisphere, Right whales tend to avoid open waters and stay close to peninsulas and bays and on continental shelves, as these areas offer greater shelter and an abundance of their preferred foods. In the Southern Hemisphere, right whales feed far offshore in summer, but a large portion of the population occur in near shore waters in winter. Right whales feed mainly on copepods but also consume krill and pteropods. They may forage the surface, underwater or even on the ocean bottom. During courtship, males gather into large groups to compete for a single female, suggesting that sperm competition appears to be an important factor in mating behavior. Although the blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, the testes of the right whale are actually ten times larger than those of the blue whale – with each weighing up to , they are by far the largest of any animal on Earth. Gestation tends to last a year, and calves are born at in weight and in length. Weaning occurs after eight months.

Right whales were a preferred target for whalers because of their docile nature, their slow surface-skimming feeding behaviors, their tendencies to stay close to the coast, and their high blubber content (which makes them float when they are killed, and which produced high yields of whale oil). Today, the North Atlantic and North Pacific right whales are among the most endangered whales in the world, and both species are protected in the United States by the Endangered Species Act. The western populations of both are currently endangered, with their total populations numbering in the hundreds. The eastern North Pacific population, on the other hand, with fewer than 50 individuals remaining, is critically endangered – further still, the eastern North Atlantic population, which numbers in the low teens at best, may already be functionally extinct. Although no longer facing a threat from whaling, mankind remains by far the greatest threat to these species: the two leading causes of death are from being struck by ships and from entanglement in fishing gear. Regarding the North Atlantic right whale, for example, these two anthropogenic factors alone account for 48% of all known right whale deaths since 1970.

Right whale may refer to:

Baleen whale taxa:

• the taxonomic family Balaenidae which consists of two genera Eubalaena and the Balaena (Bowhead whale)
• the genus Eubalaena or any of the three species currently recognized in that genus:
  • North Atlantic right whale (E. glacialis)
  • North Pacific right whale (E. japonica)
  • Southern right whale (E. australis)
• Pygmy Right Whale (Caperea marginata) currently classified in its own family Neobalaenidae.

Other:

• Right Whale Bay, South Georgia
• Right whale dolphin - two species of dolphin in the genus Lissodelphis
  • Northern Right Whale Dolphin
  • Southern Right Whale Dolphin