# Humpback whale (*Megaptera novaeangliae*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/humpback-whale  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a mammal in the whales and dolphins subgroup, placed in the family Balaenopteridae, suborder Mysticeti, order Cetacea. It falls in the giant size class, with a representative adult body mass of 30 tonnes (up to 45 tonnes) and a representative body length of 10.25 m, with reported lengths from 4.5 m to 18 m. It is a marine, diurnal invertivore whose main food is zooplankton, and its trophic level is carnivore. It has 1 young per litter and 0.5 litters per year after a gestation period of 348.8 days, and the IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 30 t – 45 t |
| Length | 4.5 m – 18 m |
| Lifespan | 45 years – 86 years |
| Diet | Invertivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 95 years |
| Main food | zooplankton |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 349 days – 365 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 3.99 years – 4.5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.5 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Cetacea
- family: Balaenopteridae
- genus: Megaptera
- species: *Megaptera novaeangliae* (Borowski, 1781)

Synonyms: *Balaena allamack*, *Balaena atlanticus*, *Balaena boops*, *Balaena gibbosa*, *Balaena lalandii*, *Balaena longimana*, *Balaena nodosa*, *Balaena novae angliae*, *Balaena novaeangliae*, *Balaena sulcata antarctica*, *Balaenoptera antarctica*, *Balaenoptera astrolabe*, *Balaenoptera australis*, *Balaenoptera capensis*, *Balaenoptera leucopteron*, *Balaenoptera syncondylus*, *Kyphobalaena keporkak*, *Megaptera americana*, *Megaptera antarctica*, *Megaptera australis*, *Megaptera bellicosa*, *Megaptera boops*, *Megaptera brasiliensis*, *Megaptera braziliensis*, *Megaptera burmeisteri*, *Megaptera gigas*, *Megaptera indica*, *Megaptera kusira*, *Megaptera kuzira*, *Megaptera lalandii*, *Megaptera lalandii*, *Megaptera longimana*, *Megaptera longimana*, *Megaptera longimana morei*, *Megaptera longipinna*, *Megaptera nodosa*, *Megaptera nodosa*, *Megaptera nodosa*, *Megaptera nodosa bellicosa*, *Megaptera nodosa lalandii*, *Megaptera nodosa nodosa*, *Megaptera nodosa nodosa*, *Megaptera nodosa novaezealandiae*, *Megaptera novaeangliae australis*, *Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira*, *Megaptera novaeangliae kuzira*, *Megaptera novaeangliae novaeangliae*, *Megaptera novaeangliea*, *Megaptera novaezelandiae*, *Megaptera osphya*, *Megaptera osphya*, *Megaptera poescop*, *Megaptera versabilis*, *Poescopia lalandii*, *Rorqualus antarcticus*, *Rorqualus australis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the humpback whale?

The humpback whale is a mammal in the whales and dolphins subgroup, belonging to the family Balaenopteridae in the order Cetacea.

### How big is a humpback whale?

Its representative body length is 10.25 m, with reported lengths from 4.5 m to 18 m. It belongs to the giant size class.

### How much does a humpback whale weigh?

Its representative adult body mass is 30 tonnes, and the highest value reported by our sources is 45 tonnes.

### What does the humpback whale eat?

Its main food is zooplankton. It is classed as an invertivore, with a trophic level of carnivore.

### Is the humpback whale endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a humpback whale live?

Its lifespan is given as 86 years, with reported values from 45 to 95 years.

### Who named the humpback whale?

Its scientific name, Megaptera novaeangliae, carries the authority (Borowski, 1781).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/humpback-whale