| 1. |
| Baleen
present on palate. No teeth. Lower jaw very wide and arched in
shape. |
Go to 2
|
| No baleen. Teeth
present (sometimes concealed beneath the gum). Lower jaw narrow
(at least near the front). |
Go to 7 |
| 2. Baleen Whales
|
| No grooves on
throat. No dorsal fin. Mouth and upper border of lower lip very
arched in shape. Long baleen plates up to 6-9ft high. |
Northern
Right Whale |
| Numerous
parallel grooves on throat. |
Go to 3 |
| 3. |
| Flippers
very long (nearly 1/3 of animal's length) and often white with
scalloped lower margin. |
Humpback
Whale |
| Flippers
much less than one third of animal's length, not scalloped on
lower margin. |
Go to 4 |
| 4. Rorquals
|
| Baleen
yellowish white or slate coloured, or both. |
Go to 5 |
| Baleen
black or nearly black. |
Go to 6 |
| 5. |
| Size
up to 70ft +. Baleen yellow and slate coloured except at front
of right side of mouth where it is white, its hairy fringes white
or yellowish. Tail flukes white below. |
Fin
Whale |
| Size
up to 30ft. Baleen and its hairy fringes all white or yellowish.
White band on outside of flipper. |
Minke
Whale |
| 6. |
| Size
up to 85ft +. Baleen very black with coarse black hairs. |
Blue Whale |
| Size
up to 50ft +. Baleen mostly dark with very fine, white, curling,
silky hairs. Tail flukes not white below. |
Sei
Whale |
| 7. Toothed Whales, Dolphins
& Porpoise |
| Tip
of lower jaw well behind foremost limit of head. |
Go to 8 |
| Tip
of lower jaw at about same level as tip of snout. |
Go to 9 |
| 8. |
| Size
of large whale, up to 60ft +. |
Sperm
Whale |
| Size
of large dolphin, up to 12ft. |
Dwarf / Pygmy Sperm Whale |
| 9. |
| No
dorsal fin. |
Go to 10 |
| Dorsal
fin present. |
Go to 11 |
| 10. |
| Head
short. Prominent forehead. Colour greyish with black mottling.
Either no visible teeth (female) or a single, spirally twisted
tusk, projecting from front of the upper jaw (male). |
Narwhal |
| Colour
white all over (grey-brown in juveniles). 8 - 10 pairs of teeth
in each jaw. |
Beluga Whale |
| 11. |
| Teeth
confined to lower jaw or apparently absent. |
Go to 12 |
| Teeth
in upper and lower jaws. |
Go to 16 |
| 12. |
| Large
dorsal fin, half way along back. No beak. 2 - 7 pairs of teeth
at front end of lower jaw. Up to 12.5ft in length. |
Risso's
Dolphin |
| Dorsal
fin two thirds of way along back. Front end of jaws narrow. Two
grooves on throat. |
Go to 13 |
| 13. Beaked Whales |
| Size
large, up to 25 - 30ft. Distance from tip of snout to blowhole
1/5 to 1/7 total length of animal. Bulbous forehead. One to two
pairs of teeth at tip of lower jaw, usually concealed. |
Bottlenose
Whale |
| Distance
from tip of snout to blowhole less than 1/7 of total length. |
Go to 14 |
| 14. |
| Size
large, up to 26ft. Distance from tip of snout to blowhole 1/8
to 1/10 total length. Forehead not prominent. Pair of teeth at
tip of lower jaw, concealed in females. |
Cuvier's Beaked Whale |
| Size
smaller, not exceeding 20ft. Long beak. |
Go to 15 |
| 15.
|
| Size
about 15ft. Colour; mostly black, usually with white scrape marks.
One pair of teeth half way along lower jaw. Conspicuous and triangular
in males, concealed in females. |
Sowerby's Beaked Whale |
| Size
about 17ft. Colour dark grey, often with white 'scrape' marks.
One pair of teeth at tip of lower jaw. Teeth conspicuous and flattened
sideways in males, concealed in females. |
True's Beaked Whale |
| N.B. There are at least 2 other beaked whale species which
may occur here - Blainville's and Gervais' |
| 16. Dolphins & Porpoises
|
| Size
large, 15 - 30 ft in adults. 8 - 13 teeth in each jaw. |
Go to 17 |
| Size
seldom exceeding 12-14ft, usually less than 9ft. Teeth no more
than 1/2 of an inch in diameter. More than 15 pairs of teeth.
|
Go to 19 |
| 17. |
| Bulbous
forehead overhanging the tip of a short beak. Long thin flippers
1/5 of body length. Colour black with some white on belly. 8 -
12 pairs of teeth in each jaw 3/4 inch diameter. |
Long
Finned Pilot Whale |
| Forehead
not prominent. 10 - 13 pairs of teeth in each jaw, at least 3/4
of an inch in diameter. |
Go to 18 |
| 18. |
| Colour
conspicuously black and white (or yellowish). Flippers broad,
not pointed. Teeth about 1 inch in diameter. |
Killer Whale |
| Colour
black all over. Flippers narrow and pointed. Teeth as in Killer
Whale. |
False Killer Whale |
| 19. |
| Size
up to 5.5ft. 21 - 24 pairs of teeth in each jaw. Teeth flattened
sideways with spade-shaped crowns (peg-like). Beak not distinguishable.
|
Harbour
Porpoise |
| Size
larger, conical teeth, crowns of teeth not spade-shaped. A distinct
beak. |
Go to 20 |
| 20. |
| Size
up to 14ft. Top of beak (from forehead to start of curve at tip
of snout) about 3 inches long. Large teeth, 20 - 25 pairs in each
jaw, up to 1/2 an inch in diameter. |
Bottlenose
Dolphin |
| Teeth
not exceeding quarter inch in diameter |
Go to 21 |
| 21. |
| Top
of beak about 2 inches (from forehead to start of curve at tip
of snout). Length 9 - 10ft. |
Go to 22 |
| Top
of beak about 6 inches (from forehead to start of curve at tip
of snout). 40 - 50 pairs of teeth in each jaw. Teeth about 1/10
of an inch in diameter. Length up to 7ft. |
Go to 23 |
| 22. |
| Upper
lip white. Dark colour of flippers continuous with body colour.
Lower margin of flippers not much curved. Approx. 25 pairs of
teeth in each jaw, 1/4 of an inch in diameter. |
White-beaked
Dolphin |
| Upper
lip black. Flippers with strongly curved lower margin. Flippers
dark colour meets white body colour, with dark stripe running
from flipper to snout. Conspicuous white patch on each flank behind
dorsal fin. 30 - 40 pairs of teeth in each jaw, 1/4 of an inch
in diameter. |
Atlantic
White-sided Dolphin |
| 23. |
| Well
marked, narrow dark band of pigment extending from eye along the
flank, curving down to the anus. Another dark stripe running from
the flipper joint towards the eye. |
Striped
Dolphin |
| Hourglass pattern
on each side of animal. Dark along back with lighter (bluish)
grey on tail stock. Creamy/yellow below this. Dark stripe running
from front of eye to top of beak. Second dark stripe from flipper
joint to lower jaw. |
Common
Dolphin |
|
Compiled by IWDG
|
