By Amelia Meyer
SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE
Scientific Name: Eubalaena australis
Other Names: Black Right Whale, Right Whale
Officially, there are three varieties of Right Whale. In addition to the Southern Right, the there is the Eubalaena japonica, also known as the North Pacific Right Whale and the Eubalaena glacialis, or the Northern Right Whale. The Southern Right Whale has considerably higher population numbers than its Northern counterpart, of which there are only a few hundred individuals left.
The Southern Right Whale has a very robust, rounded body that is, for the most part black or very dark brown. There are often white patches on the belly (nearer to the tail) and there may also be a mottling of slightly lighter colours on the remainder of the body. Its chin is particularly dark.
The Right Whales have very distinctively arched mouths and characteristic callosities on the top of the head, behind the eye, on the tip of the chin (on the skull, not the lip) and on the tip of the rostrum.