The North-Atlantic right whale is a baleen whale of the genus Eubalaena and is one of the rarest whales around Iceland. The North-Atlantic right whale is extremely rotund, as its width is around 60% of its length.

The right whale is about 15 m long. It weighs approximately 54,000 kg. The females are slightly larger than males, as with all baleen whales. Right whales were named by whalers who considered them the “right” whales to hunt, since they were rich in blubber; easy to catch, as they are relatively slow swimmers; and they floated after being killed.

Right whales have about 200–270 pairs of black baleen plates with grey-black to white bristles hanging from the jaws. The baleen is long and very fine; baleen plates are up to 3 m long.

The head is hairier than most whales. Up to 300 hairs are found on the tip of the lower jaw, and 100 are on the upper jaw. These hairs may function as vibrissae, thus aiding in aquatic foraging by allowing rapid detection of changes in prey density.

The head is extremely large and round with the upper jaw lying in a high arch, thus forming a voluminous space within the mouth.