Right Whale
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Right whales are baleen whales with bow-shaped lower jaw and a head that is up to one-quarter of the body length. Baleen hangs from the roof of the mouth and acts as a strainer for feeding, pushing out water and not releasing krill or plankton. The head is hairier than most whales; up to 300 hairs are found on the tip of the lower jaw and 100 are on the upper jaw. There are also callosities (a series of horny growths) behind the blowhole, on the chin, above the eyes, on the lower lip, and on the rostrum (the beak-like upper jaw). Right Whales are the only whales with these callosities, and their purpose remains unknown. Each individual whale has a different pattern of these callosities. Some theories about them are they are used in aggressive interactions or that they are used to shield the blow hole from water. Right whales are similar to bowhead whales, but smaller. Bowheads have the similar V shaped head, which is why they can sometimes be confused. These whales are rich in blubber and have 2 blowholes...