Eubalaena australis
3. Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis French: Baleine australe / German: Slidkaper / Spanish: Ballena franca austral Taxonomy. Balaena australis Desmoulins, 1822, “les baies d’Algoa, du Cap” (= Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa). This species is monotypic. Distribution. Cold-temperate...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Other/Unknown Material |
| Language: | unknown |
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Lynx Edicions
2014
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| Online Access: | https://zenodo.org/record/6595833 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6595833 |
| Summary: | 3. Southern Right Whale Eubalaena australis French: Baleine australe / German: Slidkaper / Spanish: Ballena franca austral Taxonomy. Balaena australis Desmoulins, 1822, “les baies d’Algoa, du Cap” (= Algoa Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa). This species is monotypic. Distribution. Cold-temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere, mainly at 20-60° S except on both coasts of South America, where they occur at most lower latitudes. Concentrated in winter near the coastlines off S Australia, New Zealand, Atlantic coast of South America (Argentina, Brazil), and S Africa (mainly South Africa), but also off Chile, Peru, Tristan da Cunha Is and the E coast of Madagascar; in summer they are found mainly in latitudes of 40-50° S but have been seen in the Antarctic as far as 65° S and around South Georgia Is. Descriptive notes. Total length 1500-1650 cm; weight to ¢.60,000 kg. Like other species of Fubalaena, the Southern Right Whale is massive and stocky, with an extremely large head. Although Southern Right Whales are generally black, they have white patches ventrally on tip of lowerjaws and abdominal region. These areas may be more extensive on Southern Right Whales than on their congeners. Pale grayish area may be visible on backs of a few individuals. Southern Right Whales can have a whitened or pale gray mottled appearance caused by sloughing of skin. Variations in the overall black color have been observed, with some individuals having a bluish or brown coloration. There is no dorsal fin or ridge on the wide, smooth back. Flipper length is up to 170 cm. Flukes are wide and taper gently to smooth trailing edges. There are on average 222 baleen plates that range from gray to black, with a maximum length of 240 cm, and have fine fringes. Callosities on Southern Right Whales are prevalent and broadly dispersed on head and rostral region; they frequently occur along top of lower jaw. Males have more callosities than females. It has been suggested that callosities are used aggressively in male-male competition for ... |
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