Broad head with a series of knobs on top, extremely long white flippers, small dorsal fin, tail with scalloped rather than smooth rear edge. Distinctive behaviour with high leaps, often mid-air rolls, then crashing back into the water on back. Feed in Antarctica during spring, summer and autumn months, then migrate to subtropical and tropical grounds for winter calving, a period when they do not feed. Humpback whales communicate using complex songs, which can travel hundreds of kilometres underwater.
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution.
It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Few (2 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: GJ Edgar. 2008. Australian Marine Life. New Holland, Sydney
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