To Identify Stranded Animals
Stranded animals can best be identified by referring to [Appendix C] and its associated tables, making a preliminary determination and then consulting the species accounts in the main body of the book for verification of the identification. As noted in that appendix, if the animal is recently stranded, identification can be made using any of the externally visible characteristics described for the living species at sea. But even if the animal is in an advanced stage of decomposition, it can usually be identified by referring to the key and to the numbers and descriptions of baleen plates, for all baleen whales, and the numbers and relative lengths of ventral grooves, for all balaenopterine whales ([Table 1]), or to the tables on the numbers and descriptions of teeth, for toothed whales ([Table 2]).