New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Right whale

The right whales are marine mammals belonging to the family Balaenidae. Right whales are baleen whales belonging to the family Balaenidae. Three right whale species are recognized in the genus Eubalaena, while the Bowhead Whale-also a right whale-is placed in its own genus, Balaena. Right whales can grow up to 18 m (60 feet) long and weigh up to 100 tonnes. Their rotund bodies are mostly black, with distinctive white callosities (skin abrasions) on their heads. They are called "right whales" because whalers thought the whales were the "right" ones to hunt, as they float when killed and often swim within sight of the shore. Populations were vastly reduced by intensive harvesting during the active years of the whaling industry. Today, instead of hunting them, people often watch these acrobatic whales for pleasure. The four right whale species live in distinct locations: around 300 Atlantic Northern Right Whales live in the North Atlantic; approximately 200 Pacific Northern Right Whales live in the North Pacific; about 7,500 Southern Right Whales are spread throughout the southern part of the Southern Hemisphere; and 8,000–9,200 Bowhead Whales are distributed entirely in the Arctic Ocean.

Related Stories
 


Plants & Animals News

October 29, 2026

Scientists have captured virus-like particles assembling themselves step by step, revealing how a surprisingly simple process of trial and error produces complex structures with remarkable precision. The discovery uncovers a crucial molecular ...
Honeybees are aggressively pushing wild pollinators away from flowers, with scientists documenting how they chase off rivals and dominate valuable food sources. New research warns that rising temperatures and increasing honeybee populations could ...
Scientists have discovered that severely bleached corals can make a remarkable comeback simply by touching healthy, genetically identical corals. In laboratory experiments, dying corals regained their color and fully recovered within seven weeks, ...
Scientists have discovered that some forest soils are becoming surprisingly better at removing methane from the atmosphere as temperatures rise and rainfall declines. A study spanning up to 24 years found methane absorption increasing by an average ...
Stanford scientists have developed a revolutionary microscope that reveals the hidden inner workings of living cells in real time, without the fluorescent labels that can interfere with observations. The breakthrough could provide new insights into ...
Scientists have discovered a remarkable “Pac-Man enzyme” that helps bacteria devour certain types of plastic and may offer new hope in the fight against plastic pollution. Researchers found that ...
Scientists have discovered a potential new weapon against a devastating fungus that threatens rice, wheat, and barley worldwide. By engineering a special type of plant immune receptor, researchers ...
Two unusually long-legged cats have helped scientists uncover the first genetically confirmed cases of Marfan syndrome in domestic felines. Researchers at Cornell University discovered that the ...
Scientists have traced the development of a mouse embryo from its first two cells to the formation of organs, using a remarkable DNA recording system that reveals the family history of individual cells. Their findings uncover how different cell ...
Scientists may have solved a 2.3-billion-year-old mystery about how Earth maintained enough oxygen to support life. Ancient rocks reveal that phosphorus recycling in the oceans created a ...
Scientists have uncovered a surprising secret behind a mushroom disease that has frustrated growers for more than a century: It involves more than 17 species of harmful bacteria, not just one. The discovery could explain why treatments have ...
A brilliant yellow coral discovered off Costa Rica proved so unusual that scientists had to create an entirely new family to classify it. The meter-tall colonies rise from seafloors covered in brittle stars, inspiring the Tolkien-inspired name ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET