Mysticetian nomenclature

Here's a quick 3d model I did after doing a couple of quick digidoodles of a Humpback.
Humpback is possibly the second-least imaginative name in a strong field of whale nameage.
Those huge pectoral fins and general body shape give it one of the most recognisable silhouettes in all whaledom but it got named 'Humpback' because it bends it's spine when it dives.
But the winner is definitely the Blue whale. The least imaginative and useful name in the whole animal kingdom. I think if I discovered it and had to give such a whale a name, it's blueness wouldn't be the most striking attribute.
Silly scienticians.

Oh, before I go. A quick 'did you know?'
Those lumps you see on a real Humpback aren't barnacles or infections of some kind. They're called tubercles and some clever boffins have observed that they improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the fins. They've even put some on a wind turbine and found that "Turbines fitted with tubercles to the leading edges of each blade are able to produce more power at low fluid speeds, are quieter, and perform much better in turbulent fluid streams."
READ ALL ABOUT IT
So there you go.
Now go.






This post is dedicated to my good pal Scruff 'cause, to me, nothing screams Autumn like a humpback whale.