Higher Classification: > Kingdom Animalia > Subkingdom Eumetazoa > Phylum Chordata > Subphylum Vertebrata > Infraphylum Gnathostomata > Megaclass Tetrapoda > Class Mammalia > Subclass Theria > Order Cetartiodactyla > Suborder Cetancodonta > Infraorder Cetacea > Superfamily Mysticeti > Family Balaenopteridae > Genus Megaptera

Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781)

Rank: Species
Taxon Status: accepted

Original genus

Balaena Linnaeus, 1758

Relationships towards this taxon

Genus group names

*Megaptera*	Gray, 1846	accepted genus name

Vernaculars (+) (-)

Afrikaans: boggelwalvis

Aleut: aliamak; alkhiamak; khi-tkhukkh

Catalan: balena geperuda; lubarta

Chukot: kaipokak uiiut

Czech: keporkak; keporkak dlouhoplautvý

Danish: buckelhval; pukkelhval; stubhval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Dutch: bultrug; langarmvinvisch

English: bunch whale; hump; humpback whale; hunch; hunchback whale sources: North-West Atlantic Ocean species (NWARMS)

French: baleine à bosse; baleine à taquet; baleine tampon; jubarte; mégaptere; rorqual du Cap; rorqual keporkak; rorqual noueux

German: Buckelwal; Knurrwal; langhaendige Wal; Pflockfisch

Greek: Μεγάπτερη; Μεγάπτερη φάλαινα sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Icelandic: hnufubakur; skeljungur

Indonesian: paus bongkok

Italian: balena gobba; megattera sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Japanese: zato kujira; ザトウクジラ sources: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. (2009 onwards). Biological Information System for Marine Life (BISMaL). Accessed on 2018-11-21.

Kalaallisut: keporkak

Korean: hog-deung-gorae

Latvian: valzius

Lithuanian: kuprotasis banginis sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Malagasy: trozona be trafo

Norwegian: knölhval; knølhval; stor rorhval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Bokmål: knølhval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Norwegian Nynorsk: knølkval sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Polish: długopłetwiec; pletwal sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Portuguese: baleia jubarte; baleia-corcunda; jubarte

Russian: dlinnorukyi polosatik; gorbach; gorbatyi kit; veselyi kit; горбатый кит sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Slovenian: kit grbavec sources: Davorin Tome

Southern Balochi: abra

Spanish, Castillian: ambaqui; ballena cantora; ballena de aletas grandes; ballena jorobada; guabarte; gubarta; jibarte; jorobada; rorqual jorobado; yubarta

Swahili: chongoe

Swedish: hnunfurbakur; knölval; puckelval

Turkish: kambur balina sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Ukrainian: Горбань; Горбатий кит; Горбач; Кит горбатий sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Welsh: morfil cefngrwm sources: PESI (A Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure) focal points

Yupik languages: aghvesiiq; kaipokak

Literature

basis of record	van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376
additional source	Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of Living Whales. Bulletin of the United States National Museum. (246): 1-259.
additional source	Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication. 4.
additional source	Maio, N.; Maione, V.; Sgammato, R. (2016). First record of a Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781) in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Cetacea Balaenopteridae). Biodiversity Journal. 7(1): 33-38.
additional source	Schmidly, D. J. and B. Würsig. 2009. Mammals (Vertebrata: Mammalia) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1343–1352 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas.
additional source	Mead, J. G.; Brownell, R. L. Jr. (2005). Cetacea. In Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp. 723--743.
additional source	Clapham, P. J. and J. G. Mead. (1999). Megaptera novaeangliae. Mammalian Species 604:1--9.
additional source	Liu, J.Y. [Ruiyu] (ed.). (2008). Checklist of marine biota of China seas. China Science Press. 1267 pp.
additional source	Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam.
additional source	Perrin, W.F.; Würsig, B.; Thewissen, J.G.M. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Second edition. Academic Press: London. ISBN 978-0-12-373553-9. xxix, 1316 pp.
additional source	Stacey, P. J. and P. W. Arnold. (1999). Orcaella brevirostris. Mammalian Species 616:1--8.
additional source	IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
additional source	Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
additional source	King, C.M.; Roberts, C.D.; Bell, B.D.; Fordyce, R.E.; Nicoll, R.S.; Worthy, T.H.; Paulin, C.D.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Keyes, I.W.; Baker, A.N.; Stewart, A.L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R.M.; Holdaway, R.N.; McPhee, R.P.; Schwarzhans, W.W.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Rust, S.; Macadie, I. (2009). Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals. in: Gordon, D.P. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand inventory of biodiversity: 1. Kingdom Animalia: Radiata, Lophotrochozoa, Deuterostomia. pp. 431-554.
ecology source	Looby, A.; Erbe, C.; Bravo, S.; Cox, K.; Davies, H. L.; Di Iorio, L.; Jézéquel, Y.; Juanes, F.; Martin, C. W.; Mooney, T. A.; Radford, C.; Reynolds, L. K.; Rice, A. N.; Riera, A.; Rountree, R.; Spriel, B.; Stanley, J.; Vela, S.; Parsons, M. J. G. (2023). Global inventory of species categorized by known underwater sonifery. Scientific Data. 10(1).

Genbank

External Links

Marine Life Information Network - UK

Citation

Fordyce, E.; Perrin, W.F. (2025). World Cetacea Database. Megaptera novaeangliae (Borowski, 1781). Via: Costello, M.J.; Bouchet, P.; Boxshall, G.; Arvantidis, C.; Appeltans, W. (2011) European Register of Marine Species, Accessed through PESI at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/taxon.php?GUID=urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:137092