The
bowhead whale (
Balaena mysticetus) is a species of the
right whale family
Balaenidae, in
suborder Mysticeti, and
genus Balaena. A stocky dark-colored whale without a
dorsal fin, it can grow to in length. This thick-bodied species can weigh from to . They live entirely in fertile
Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, unlike other whales that migrate to low latitude waters to feed or reproduce. The bowhead was also known as the
Greenland right whale or
Arctic whale. American whalemen called them the
steeple-top,
polar whale, or
Russia or
Russian whale. The bowhead has the largest mouth of any animal.