Whale Names

Humpback whale: Megaptera noveangliae

Mega-large or big
Ptera-wing
nove-new
angliae-england (from Middle English rather than Latin)

Blue whale: Balaenoptera musculus

Balaena-whale
musculus-mouse! (perhaps meant as a joke because blue whales are so large. Maybe a corruption actually meant as muscular)

Minke whale: Balaenoptera acutorostrata

Acuto-sharp
rostrata-nose (from rostrum)

Sei whale: Balaenoptera borealis

borealis-northern

Atlantic White-sided Dolphin: Lagenorhynchus acutus

Lagenos-bottle or flask (Greek)
rhychus-snout, beak

Narwhal: Monodon monoceros

Mono-one
odon-tooth
ceros-horn (all from Greek)

Long-finned Pilot Whale: Globicephala melaena

globi-ball, globe
cephala-head (Greek)
melaena-black (Greek)