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 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 WhaleShort-Finned Pilot Whale
FLIPPER LENGTH
To one-fifth body length,or more.To one-sixth body length, orless.
NORMAL RANGE
From North Carolina north.From North Carolina south.
TEETH
8-11 per row.7-9 per row.

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.)