This whale has no dorsal fin nor ventral grooves. The lower jaw is strongly bowed and the rostrum is narrow.
Callosities are prominent on the rostrum, near blowholes, near eyes, and on the chin and lower lip.
These large crusty growths often harbor crustaceans called whale lice, and may therefore appear white, orange, yellow, or pink. Otherwise, the skin varies from black to brown with some white patches. The chin and upper jaw have numerous hairs. Young are 4.5 to 6m long at birth. Adults can be up to 17m long and weigh up to 100 tons.