Browse Items (11 total)

We discuss the evolution, phylogenetic relations to right whales, and geographical distribution of bowhead whales. We summarize its relations to humans, including whaling by indigenous and European whalers, conservation efforts, and modern challenges…

Indigenous whalers know a great deal about the habits and environment of bowhead whales. That knowledge is essential for safe and effective hunting and has also been invaluable to scientific research and management of bowheads. Studies in Chukotka,…

The commercial hunt of the four stocks of bowhead whales by the nations of Europe and North America commenced in 1540 and came to an effective end at the start of World War I. At that time, all four stocks had been driven to near extinction. Whalers…

In the late 1980s, annual carbon isotope cycles in the baleen plates of bowhead whales formed the basis of the first effective means of estimating bowhead age. However, the baleen aging method could only be used for aging subadult whales less than…

Bowhead whales are some of the largest animals that occupy the Arctic Circle. Despite the challenges of living and giving birth in icy waters, having huge blubber stores, eating a fat-rich diet, and undergoing arduous migrations, bowheads achieved…

The sensory biology of bowhead whales reflects features both related to their origin from land mammals and adaptations to their current environment, polar seas. There is anatomical and genomic evidence that bowheads have a sense of smell. Their sense…

An understanding of the functional morphology of the bowhead whale continues to have significance for population management. This chapter first examines the anatomical features of the bowhead whale reproductive system, with an emphasis on the female.…

The postcranial skeleton of bowhead whales was described in detail more than 100 years ago. The musculature of bowheads has not been studied in detail but matches that of other mysticetes in general features. In this chapter, we focus on some aspects…

The skull of the bowhead whale is composed of all the bones commonly found in mammals, although the shape of these bones is far from ordinary. Features related to feeding dominate the skull: there are no teeth, and the rostrum is long and curved,…

The prenatal development of bowhead whales is poorly known, and no complete ontogenetic series exist. However, the available embryos and fetuses elucidate aspects of the development of the species, as well as that of all of mysticetes in general, and…

Bering–Chukchi–Beaufort Sea bowhead whales are born at about 4.2m in length and 1000kg, in lead systems along the NW Alaskan coast. Bowheads in the other northern stocks are also born in ice-covered seas. Maximum body lengths (standard measure) can…
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