🐾Humpback whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual and is the only species in the genus Megaptera. Adults range in length from 14–17 m (46–56 ft) and weigh up to 40 metric tons. The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with long pectoral fins and tubercles on its head. It is known for breaching and other distinctive surface behaviors, making it popular with whale watchers. Males produce a complex song that typically lasts from 4 to 33 minutes.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2018.
- Body mass
- 30,000 kg
- Body length
- 14 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 95 years
Everything we know about the Humpback whale
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass30,000 kgrecord 35,000 kg · SeaLifeBaseCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Record: largest individual on record
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 30,000 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length14 mCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 19 mSeaLifeBasev25.04
Brain mass6,439 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan95 yearsCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 95 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length22 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity3.6 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation349 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 342 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter size1COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 1AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic levelCarnivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleDiurnalestimatedCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l30,000 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
estimated = a model's estimate for a species nobody has measured; average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Humpback whale yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderCetacea
- ›familyBalaenopteridae
- ›genusMegaptera
- ›speciesMegaptera novaeangliae
- classMammals · Mammalia
- orderEven-toed hoofed animals · Artiodactyla
- infraorderWhales & dolphins · Cetacea
- genusMegaptera
All 14 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderLaurasiatheria
- orderEven-toed hoofed animals · Artiodactyla
- suborderWhippomorpha
- infraorderWhales & dolphins · Cetacea
- genusMegaptera
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