Two stripes, light in color, emerge from behind the blowholes and join at the upper side towards the tail, to form a V-shape. On the underside, they have around 50 to 100 pleats that run lengthwise, from the chin to the navel, to allow for expansion during feeding. It is for this characteristic that they are called 'rorquals'. On the top of the body, on the far back end, this whale has a prominent tall and hook-shaped dorsal fin that is around 2 feet tall.