gray whale

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Disputed. Either from the whale’s coloration, or after British zoologist John Edward Gray, who first recognized it as a distinct genus in 1864.[1]

Noun

gray whale (plural gray whales)

  1. A baleen whale, Eschrichtius robustus, from the north Pacific
    Synonyms: grayback whale, grayback, California gray whale, Pacific gray whale, Korean gray whale, desert whale, (all obsolete) scrag whale, ripsack, mussel digger, devilfish

Translations

References

  1. ^ Carwardine, Mark (2020), Handbook of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the World, Princeton: Princeton University Press, page 77