Eubalaena japonica

Adults are about 17 meters long, sometimes up to 18 meters. Females are larger than males. Adults can weigh 80 to 100 tons. They have huge heads, which are almost 1/3 of their body length. They have thick body circumference, with the largest circumference being 60% or more of their body length. Most North Pacific right whales are black, but there may be some white spots of varying sizes on the abdomen and chin, and white spots on the tail and flippers. There are some rough yellow, red or white warts on the head, called corpora callosum, which are the habitats of whale lice. The largest corpora callosum at the tip of the snout is called the bonnet. Other corpora callosum are often found between the bonnet and the rear end of the blowhole, on the lower jaw, and above the eyes. There are some hairs on the front of the chin and the upper jaw, some of which grow on the corpora callosum. The two blowholes are slightly "eight" shaped, far apart, and can exhale a "V" shaped

Origin (sea): Japan, Russia, the United States.
Wandering (sea): Canada (British Columbia), China, North Korea, South Korea, Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur), Taiwan, China, the United States (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington).
It mainly inhabits the temperate and subpolar waters of the North Pacific, distributed between 25° and 60° north latitude. They migrate from the subpolar zone to lower latitudes in early winter and stay in shallow waters close to the continent or islands. After mating and giving birth, they return to the subpolar zone in spring.

The North Pacific right whale has no subspecies.

For a long time, cetaceans believed that right whales in the northern and southern hemispheres were two species: the northern right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis). Rice (1998) advocated that the genus Eubalaena of the family of right whales be merged into the genus Balaena, and that all whales originally classified as Eubalaena in the world belong to the same species, namely the right whale (Balaena glacialis). However, the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission discussed the taxonomy of right whales in June 2000. Based on the genetic differences between the right whale populations in the North Pacific, North Atlantic and Southern Hemisphere (Rosenbaum et al., 2000), it was recommended that all three populations be treated as independent species, and that the genus Eubalaena be retained. The three species are: North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica), North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) and Southern right whale (Eubalaena australis).

North Pacific right whales often travel in groups of less than a dozen (mostly single or paired). Larger groups may form on feeding or breeding grounds. They are capable of active aerial maneuvers, including breaching (leaping partially or completely out of the water), slapping (slapping the water vigorously with the tail), and flipper slapping (slapping the water with flippers). They often raise their tail before diving deeply. The spray is in a "V" shape.

North Pacific right whales feed on copepods and other small invertebrates. The main food is at least three copepods of the genus Calanus, followed by krill (Euphausia pacifica). They are typical skimmers, swimming slowly through the plankton that gathers together on the surface, filtering or skimming the food, or diving deep to skim the food, diving for about 10 to 20 minutes.

The main external parasites of the North Pacific right whale are swimming whale lice (Cyamus erraticus) and oval whale lice (C. ovalis). They parasitize on the callus, in the genital groove, around the eyes and blowholes, at the base of the flippers, and on the upper and lower jaws. There are also diatom membranes covering the tail leaf, the body surface, and the baleen plates. The internal parasites include tapeworms of the order Pseudophillidea.

Like other right whales, the reproduction rate of the North Pacific right whale is particularly low. The female whale has a gestation period of one year and gives birth in winter, with one calf per litter, and the interval between births is 3 to 4 years (including the gestation period). The lactation period is estimated to last 6 to 7 months, but it may be delayed. A large amount of milk residue has been found in the stomach of a 1-year-old subadult, and another 11.3-meter-long individual has been completely weaned. Males are sexually mature at 15.2 meters in length, and females are sexually mature at 15.8 meters, both around 10 years old. Newborn whales can grow up to 6 meters, grow rapidly in the first few years, and can grow to 12 meters in 18 months. The fat milk of female whales is rich in protein, and they consume a lot of energy in raising their offspring, and the lactation period may be intermittent for a long time. Female whales have a strong tendency to protect their young, and often keep their calves behind potential dangers such as other whales, ships, aircraft and divers.

Historically, North Pacific right whales were distributed in a large area between Japan and Mexico. But the rise of whaling later brought them great disasters, and their numbers plummeted. The current population is only a small part of that in the 19th century. According to Scarff (2001), 26,500 to 37,000 North Pacific right whales were caught between 1839 and 1909. A total of 1,965 observations were recorded in the 20th century (Brownellet al. 2001).

Listed in Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

Listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Listed in China's "National Key Protected Wildlife List": National Second Class Protected Animal (effective December 10, 1988, Cetacean*Other Cetaceans).

Listed in the "IUCN Red List of Endangered Species": Endangered Species (EN), assessed in 2008.

In February 2021, it was listed in the "China National Key Protected Wildlife List" Level I.

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