sketching, and measuring the specimen without removing 

 the carcass or any part of the carcass from the beach. 



Any person taking data on stranded cetaceans should 

 follow the instructions itemized below, being careful to take 

 measurements in the manner prescribed and to record data in 

 as much detail as possible. 



1. Specimens should be preserved in 10% neutral 

 Formalin, except for the stomach contents, which should be 

 kept in 70% ethyl or 40% isopropyl alcohol, or be frozen. 

 Commercial rubbing alcohol will suffice. As a minimum, the 

 head, flippers, and reproductive tract should be preserved. If 

 no other method of handling the specimen is available, and 

 only as a last resort, it may be buried in the sand well above 

 the high tide line and carefully marked so it can later be 

 recovered. Burying usually results in the loss of some vital 

 parts. 



2. The carcass should be examined for external parasites 

 particularly in such areas as the blowhole(s), the eyes, any 

 wounds on the trailing edges of the dorsal fin, flippers, and 

 flukes. Occasionally barnacles will be found on teeth or baleen 

 plates. Like the stomach contents, parasites should be 

 preserved in alcohol. 



3. Photographs and sketches are a valuable part of data 

 collection— views of the animal(s) from as many angles as 



possible, and detailed shots of such features as baleen plates, 

 mouth and teeth, ventral grooves, flippers, flukes, and 

 unusual scars or coloration should be included. Including a 

 ruler for size reference may be helpful. 



4. Although scientific data are usually expressed in metric 

 units, measurements should be taken in whatever units are 

 readily available. All measurements should be taken in a 

 straight line, as shown in the diagram, unless otherwise 

 noted. Measurements which refer to the rostrum are taken 

 from the tip of the upper jaw. The external auditory meatus 

 (ear) is a small inconspicuous opening located just below and 

 behind the eye. To locate the ear the observer must 

 sometimes scrape away some of the skin to expose the 

 unpigmented ear canal beneath it. 



.5. Throat grooves are short grooves found on the throat of 

 beaked whales, sperm whales, and dwarf sperm whales. 

 Ventral grooves are long grooves found only on 

 balaenopterine whales. Ventral grooves should be counted 

 between the flippers. 



It is difficult to overstress the importance of data from 

 stranded cetaceans. For some species, the only data available 

 have come from stranded individuals. By carefully gleaning 

 from each specimen all the data that can be collected, you will 

 make a valuable addition to the body of knowledge on these 

 elusive animals. 



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