Grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 5
Species information
Update
COSEWIC status report
on the
Grey whale
Eschrichtius robustus
Eastern North Pacific population
in Canada
2004
Name and classification
The grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus, Liljeborg 1861) was named for its greyish colour. Suggestions that the animal was named in reference to J.E. Gray and hence should always be spelled ‘gray’ are not supported: Gray (1865) applied the generic name Eschrichtius to fossils found in Britain and Sweden and the link between him and the living animal (Van Deinse and Junge 1937) occurred long after the names ‘grey whale’ or ‘gray whale’ were commonly used (see for example Scammon 1874). English synonyms include gray whale (US spelling), scrag whale (antiquated for the extirpated Atlantic population, Mead and Mitchell 1984), hardhead, mussel-digger, devilfish, grayback, ripsack (antiquated whaling terms, Scammon 1874).
In other European languages the animals is also usually named for its colour: Baleine grise (French), Ballena gris (Spanish), серый кит (Russian). Indigenous names for the species includemauk (Nuu-chah-nulth; Happynook, pers. comm.), balgina (Kwakw'ala – western dialects; sometimes also applied to minke whales; Compton, pers. comm.), gwa'yam (Kwakw'ala – eastern dialects; generic name for any large whale; Sanborn, pers. comm.), cetuqupak (Yup’ik; Jacobson 1984), and abvibluaq (IñupiaQ; Institute of Social and Economic Research 2002)
The grey whale is the only extant species in the family Eschrichtiidae. Genetic analyses suggest that this family is most closely related to the rorquals (Balaenopteridae; Arnason and Best 1991; Milinkovitch et al. 1994). No living infraspecific taxa (subspecies) are currently recognized for grey whales.
Description
The grey whale is a medium to large mysticete (baleen) whale. Adult females typically range between 11.7 and 15.2 m in length, while adult males are somewhat smaller at 11.1 to 14.3 m (Evans 1987). The skin colour ranges from dark to light grey with various degrees of mottling and animals often bear barnacles (Cryptolepas rachianecti) or barnacle scars, as well as patches of whale lice (Cyamus scammoni, C. ceti, and C. kessleri; Mead and Mitchell 1984). The grey whale is the only large whale in which the upper jaw extends beyond the lower one. The 130-180 baleen plates are 5 to 25 cm long and cream to pale yellow in colour. Grey whales have between two and four throat grooves (pleats that allow the throat region to expand during feeding). They lack a dorsal fin, but have a low hump and a series of seven to 15 knobs (called knuckles) along the dorsal ridge instead (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. llustration of a grey whale Eschrichtius robustus
Drawing by A. Denbigh, courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada).
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