Reference photo — Carquinyol from Badalona, Catalunya, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Beluga Whale
Delphinapterus leucas
Distribution
Loads map tiles and observation data from OpenStreetMap and GBIF.
Range: iNaturalist (CC BY 4.0) · Base map: Natural Earth (public domain)
Quick facts
- Group
- Mammals
- Family
- Monodontidae
- Size
- 3–5.5 m (length)
- Weight
- 700–1600 kg
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Lifespan
- 40–60 yrs
- Habitat
- Arctic seas, Estuaries, Pack ice edge
About
The beluga whale, is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two living members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the white whale, as it is the only cetacean to regularly occur with this colour; the sea canary, due to its high-pitched calls; and the melonhead, though that more commonly refers to the melon-headed whale, which is an oceanic dolphin.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), abridged.