whales species,
are found in winter from the Grand Banks south as far as North Carolina
and in summer from Iceland and Greenland south to the New Jersey coast.
Winter concentrations of pilot whales may be found off the Newfoundland
coast and near Cape Cod, Mass. Atlantic pilot whales are distributed
both in coastal waters and in deep waters off the continental shelf.

Stranded Specimens

As discussed above, individuals and groups of pilot whales frequently
strand themselves for still incompletely understood reasons. They may be
identified as pilot whales primarily by: 1) the robust body and bulbous
head, which is often squarish in adult animals, and 2) the broad-based,
falcate dorsal fin located far forward on the back. Accurate
determination of the pilot whale species involved in the stranding may
require museum preparation of the skull and detailed examination of its
characteristics. Preliminary identification may be made, however, based
on the following:

ATLANTIC PILOT WHALE SHORT-FINNED PILOT WHALE

FLIPPER LENGTH

To one-fifth body length, To one-sixth body length, or
or more. less.

NORMAL RANGE

From North Carolina north. From North Carolina south.

TEETH

8-11 per row. 7-9 per row.

[Illustration: Figure 97.--A herd of Atlantic pilot whales off
Massachusetts. The most distinguishing field characteristic of this
species, and of their southern cousins, the short-finned pilot whales,
is the highly distinctive dorsal fin, extremely long based, low in
profile, and set well forward on the animals' backs. (_Photo by W. A.
Watkins._)]

[Illustration: Figure 98.--Atlantic pilot whales frequently "lob tail"
(raise the tail flukes above the surface and slap them against the
water) (top) and pitchpole or spy-hop (hang vertically in the water with
the head up and the tail down) (bottom). (_Photos from the North
Atlantic by H. E. Winn._)]

[Illustration: Figure 99.--North Atlantic pilot whales on the deck of a
whaling station in Newfoundland. The anchor-shaped patch on the chin and
the gray color of the belly are apparently more vivid and extensive in
this species than in the short-finned pilot whales. Further, the flipper
is longer, measuring one-fifth of the body length, or more, in adult
animals. The flippers of short-finned pilot whales (see Fig. 102)
measure one-si