fin or hump, and both throw the tail
flukes. The most distinctive differences between the two species are
tabularized on p. 40.

At sea the head of a sperm whale may also somewhat resemble that of an
adult male northern bottlenosed whale, but this latter species is
lighter brown in color, has a distinct beak and a prominent dorsal fin,
and is rarely found south of lat. 42 deg.N. In addition, the blowhole of the
northern bottlenosed whale is located well back on the head and not--as
in the sperm whale--on the front.

Distribution

Sperm whales are widely distributed in oceanic areas of the western
North Atlantic. They may be encountered from Venezuela north at least as
far as the Davis Straits, though they apparently avoid the polar ice
fields. Distribution and migrations vary between males and females.
Males range farther to the north, while females and immature males
remain between lat. 30 deg. and 50 deg.N. Both groups shift northward during
spring and summer and return to southern portions of their range in the
fall. Adult males arrive off the New England coast in August. Those
reaching the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts arrive from the deep sea,
perhaps following the slope contours, in August and September. Males are
abundant as far north as southeast Greenland and Iceland in summer. Some
animals remain as late as November, but the majority migrate south to
temperate or tropical waters in the early fall.

Historically the primary grounds in the western North Atlantic were
those in all the following areas: the Grand Banks just southeast of the
southern Grand Banks from lat. 30 deg. to 40 deg.N and long. 35 deg. to 55 deg.W, off
the Carolinas, around the Bahamas, around many of the West Indies, and
in the southwestern Caribbean.

Stranded Specimens

Stranded sperm whales should be easy to identify. The very narrow
underslung jaw contains from 18 to 25 functional teeth, which fit into
sockets in the upper jaw. The huge, distinctly box-shaped head and the
position of the single blowhole to the left front of the head are
unmistakable clues.

[Illustration: Figure 53.--An aerial view of 21 sperm whales, including
two young calves and several large males, off Japan. Even from an
aircraft, the position of the blowhole and the body shape clearly mark
these animals as sperm whales. (_Photos by Suisan Koku Company, courtesy
of T. Kasuya._)]

[Illustration: Figure 54.--A side view of a sperm whale in the West