BEHAVIOR 



Will not ride bow waves; 

 seldom breaches. 



May ride bow waves, often 

 "porpoises" and breaches. 



RANGE 



Temperate waters from at 

 least North Carolina north. 



Temperate seas from at least 

 Maryland south. 



In the extreme southern portion of their range, Atlantic pi- 

 lot whales may be confused with short-finned pilot whales with 

 which they have only a limited seasonal common range. Char- 

 acters distinguishing these species are subtle and may not be 

 adequate to permit them to be distinguished at sea. For pur- 

 poses of this guide it is generally that pilot whales living north 

 of lat. 38°N (Virginia coast) are Atlantic pilot whales and 

 those living south of lat. 38°N are short-finned pilot whales. 



Distribution 



Atlantic pilot whales, the northernmost of the two pilot 

 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 under- 

 stood 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 follow- 

 ing: 



Atlantic Pilot Whale Short-Finned Pilot Whale 



FLIPPER LENGTH 



To one-fifth body length, or To one sixth body length, or 

 more. less. 



NORMAL RANGE 

 From North Carolina north. From North Carolina south. 



TEETH 

 8-11 per row. 7 9 per row. 



Fieure 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 fUpper is longer, measunng one-fifth of the 

 body length, or more, in adult animals. The flippers of short-finned pUot whales (see Fig. 102) measure one-sixth of the body length or less. U>hoto by J. h. 

 Mead.) 



93 



