Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)
Humpback Whale
CLASSIFICATION
Main Group: Animal
Sublevel 1: Vertebrate
Sublevel 2: Mammal
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetacea
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Megaptera
Species: Megaptera novaeangliae
STATUS IN NEW ENGLAND
Origin: Native (Nonbreeding/Oversummering)
Invasive, Pest, or Pathogen?: No
Rarity Designations:
U.S. - Delisted 2016/10/11 (West Indies population)
MA - State Endangered
ME - State Endangered
RI - Federally Endangered
MA SWAP (2015) - SGCN
ME WAP (2015) - SGCN (Tier 1 - Highest Priority)
NH WAP (2015) - SGCN
RI WAP (2015) - SGCN
BIOLOGY/ECOLOGY
Feeding Type: Heterotroph
HABITAT
PHOTOS OF Megaptera novaeangliae
Tail
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2018-08-10
Tail
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2018-08-10
Tail
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2015-08-10
Back; dorsal fin is visible
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2015-08-10
Back; dorsal fin is visible
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2015-08-10
Recently surfaced whale. The "blow" (cloud of vapor from its exhale) is visible to the right of the whale.
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2015-08-10
View of the back; the dorsal fin is visible in the foreground, the two blowholes can be seen in the background. The left pectoral fin is also visible.
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Date: 2015-08-10