The Natural History of Megaptera novaeanglaeMatthew Bindman, “Laboratory Section”The humpback whale or scientifically known as Megaptera novaenglae ​​​​is one of the most majestic marine mammals on the planet. Humpback whales belong to a subphylum of filter-feeding whales called Mysticeti and belong to the family Balaenopteridae (Milinkovitch and Lambert 2008). They possess morphological characteristics that help them engage in diverse styles of predation, are found in all major ocean basins, undertake long-distance migrations, and have been nearly wiped out due to overexploitation. Unlike other baleen whales, M.novaenglae ​​rely heavily on maneuverability when capturing prey, and their pectoral fins allow them to be highly maneuverable (Wiley et al. 2011). Their pectoral fins are the longest of all cetaceans and range in length from one-quarter to one-third of the total body length (Wiley et al. 2011). These fins, compared to other whale species, are also very mobile at the shoulders and possess some flexibility along the length (Wiley et al. 2011). Furthermore, on the anterior edge of the fins, which occur early in young fetuses, there are formations of 9–11 tubercles, which decrease in size towards the tip of the fin (Wiley et al. 2011). The combination of the high fin-to-body length ratio plus the presence of tubercles, which prevent stalling at high angles of attack, provides high lift and drag characteristics that allow humpback whales to perform sharp, high-speed turns during predation (Wiley et al. 2011). Humpback whales have been sighted in all major oceans, migrating to the higher polar latitudes to feed during the summer and to the more equilateral lower latitudes to breed (Marine Fisheries Review 1999). The popu...... center of the paper ......d that the whale must accelerate to perform another lunge requires more energy to be used than normal swimming. This could be added to the essay if there is enough space if something is deleted Humpback whales belong to the subphylum Mysticeti which is the mysticetes and consists of four families, Balaenopteridae, Eschrichtiidae, Balaenidae and Neobalaenidae (Milinkovitch and Lambert, 2006). Common morphological features of the Mysteceti jaw are loss of teeth, an extension of the jaws where the baleen plates develop, mandibular rami attached to each other only by a ligament, a shortening of the neck, and the development of a jaw size of larger body and head. What helps differentiate humpback whales from the rest of the whales is that they have wing-like pectoral fins and are more social when feeding.