The humpback whale (Megaptera boops) belongs to the group
characterized by the presence of a number of longitudinal flutings in the skin
of the throat, and of a fin on the back. It is distinguished from the finners
(described below), by the comparatively large size of the head, the short and
deep body, the small size of the fin on the back, and the enormous length of the
flippers. The flukes are relatively large, and the flippers are characterized by
their scalloped margins. As in the grey whale and finners, the vertebrae of the
neck are relatively longer than in the right whales, and remain perfectly
separate from one another throughout life. The whalebone, which is of a deep
black color, is short and broad, and of a coarse and but slightly elastic
structure. In length the humpback varies from 45 to 50 feet; the flippers
measuring from 10 to 14 feet in length. The general color of the body is black
above, but often more or less marbled with white below, while the flippers may
be either entirely white, or black above and speckled with white below. The
skeleton of the flippers has four digits, with a great number of joints.
The name humpback, according to Captain Scammon, is derived from the prominence
on the back which carries the fin, but there appears to be considerable
individual variation in regard to the degree of its development. Captain Scammon,
from whose figures our plate is taken, makes this prominence at least as high as
any other part of the back, while in the position assumed by the suckling female
in the lower half of the plate it is the highest point of all In a figure given
by Sir W. H. Flower the whole back is made more arched, with the highest point
only a short distance behind the base of the flippers; possibly, however, there
may be individual differences in this respect. It may be mentioned here that
when a whale leaps out of the water, as in the topmost figure of our plate, it
is said to " breach "; when a fin is shown out of the water, as in the two right
upper figures, the action is termed " finning "; while, when the flukes alone
are exposed, as on the left side of the plate, it is called " lob-tailing."
Humpbacks are found in nearly all seas, and at present it appears Distribution.
impossible to distinguish more than a single species, although some writers
maintain that the one inhabiting the Persian Gulf is distinct from the common
form. Although they are said to be not uncommon off the eastern coast of
Scotland during the summer, but few examples have been taken in the British
Seas. One was, however, captured at Newcastle in 1839, a second at the mouth of
the Dee in 1863, a third in Wick Bay, Caithness, in 1871, and a fourth in the
Tay during the winter of 1883-84.
As regards the habits of the humpback, Captain Scammon states that this whale
generally prefers " to feed and perform its uncouth gambols near extensive
coasts or about the shores of islands, in all latitudes between the Equator and
the frozen oceans, both north and south. It is irregular in its movements,
seldom going a straight course for any considerable distance; at one time moving
about in large numbers, scattered over the sea as far as the eye can discern
from the masthead, at other times singly, seeming as much at home as if it were
surrounded by hundreds of its kind, performing at will the varied actions of
'breaching,' 'rolling,' 'finning,' 'lob-tailing,' or 'scooping,' or, on a calm
sunny day, perhaps lying motionless on the molten-looking surface, as though
life were extinct." On the coasts of Norway, although generally found in small
numbers, Mr. Collett states that it is occasionally very numerous—so much so
that in one instance a steamer had to exercise great care in steering, in order
to avoid coming into collision with these whales. They were met with in great
profusion by Captain Gray in 1880 to the north of Ireland, accompanied by
numbers of the lesser finwhales. Two young are frequently produced at a birth.
The amount of oil yielded by a humpback is very variable, a female with a large
young one having scarcely any blubber. Captain Scammon states that he has known
the amount of oil taken from some individuals not to exceed eight or ten
barrels, while in others the yield has been as much as seventy-five.
--
The Royal Natural History: Mammals, birds By Richard Lydekker - 1895 Edited by
Stanley L. Klos 1999
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