Species guide
Humpback whale
Megaptera novaeangliae
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Least Concern — assessment published .
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Large, uniquely shaped body with black or dark grey upper side
- Extremely long arm-like black or white flippers
- Size
- Maximum length: 18 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including January 2026.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Borowski, 1781)
- Family
- Balaenopteridae
- Cetacean group
- Mysticeti
Sightings in Madeira
The 2012 checklist documents historical catches and later humpback sightings. These records do not define a dependable migration window around Madeira. Historical evidence.
Our January 2026 trip report lists this species. This is an operator observation, not a population estimate.
No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records. The months in individual reports should not be treated as the limits of a season.
ID characteristics
Large, uniquely shaped body with black or dark grey upper side
Extremely long arm-like black or white flippers
Head rather slender in profile, flat and covered with knobs and often with barnacles
Broad flukes with irregular, curved and ragged trailing edge.
Surface behaviour
Shows little fear of boats and may be highly inquisitive.
Usually very active at surface, breaching, lobtailing and slapping with its tail or flippers.
Distribution
Worldwide, between parallels 65º North and 80º South, though with separate populations.
Widely distributed in all oceans.
Social
1 to 3 individuals
Diet
Krill, crustaceans and fish
Biometrics
Max length: 18 m
Adult weight: 25 to 30 ton
Blow
Broad bushy blow up to 3 meters high
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Baleia de bossa, Baleia jubarte, Baleia preta, Baleia corcunda, Baleia cantora
- German: Buckelwal
- French: Baleine à bosse, Jubarte, Mégaptère, Rorqual à bosse, Rorqual du Cap
- Spanish: Yubarta, Ballena Jorobada, Gubarte
- Italian: Megattera, Balena gobba
- Dutch: Bultrug
- Polish: Długopłetwiec oceaniczny, Humbak
- Swedish: Knölval
- Danish: Pukkelhval
- Norwegian: Knølkval, Knølhval
Names vary by language and region. This list is not exhaustive. Multilingual name records.
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Megaptera novaeangliae — global species assessment, published 2018.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: November 2018 assessments — Global assessment publication years and category changes. A category change need not indicate a recent population change.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.