Any ideas what whale this is, washed out on Ireland South East coast

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horsecock_530@reddit

Either a Risso’s Dolphin or a False Killer Whale.

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That took longer than I thought it would! As promised, here's a photo of an illustration of the skull of a Risso's dolphin taken from the FAO Marine Mammals of the World book. A fabulous little book for looking at ID in five detail (and it's available to download - FAO marine mammals guide

This shows the teeth of Risso's which are visible in the original photo. I'll put the other species in the results below as I can only post one photo at a time.

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killedbyboneshark@reddit

Thanks a lot, that's fascinating

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ArtHefty542@reddit

Melon-headed whale - much smaller teeth and lots of them!

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ArtHefty542@reddit

Pygmy killer whale - again too many teeth and present top and bottom

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ArtHefty542@reddit

False killer whale - much bigger and more teeth. Also present on top and bottom jaw unlike Risso's

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l4ina@reddit

poor dear, the closed eye looks like it’s sleeping. (if you ignore the rest…)

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ArtHefty542@reddit

It's a particularly dark Risso's dolphin. You can see the cleavage on the forehead which is unique to the species. The teeth are also correct for Risso's with only 5-7 on the lower jaw. Other blackfish have more teeth in the lower jaw.

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S3ntr1x777@reddit (OP)

Thanks, I think you're spot on

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bjrbo@reddit

But how did the skin get so dark? Or does this occur post mortem

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ArtHefty542@reddit

Risso's around the UK and Ireland can appear very very dark and with few scars especially in younger animals and females. The process of decomposition can also darken the skin further to add to the confusion. As an example, this was a young Risso's which washed in dead locally in the north of Scotland last year.

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literally-a-seal@reddit

Risso's dolphin naturally have dark skin. As other comment said it is scrapes that appear white. Here's one thats almost entirely dark-colored. They do more often appear as various greys to white because of the aforementioned scrapes tho.

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Turbulent-Name-8349@reddit

Risso's dolphin is infamous for being covered in duelling scars. It is the scars that are white. I don't see many or any duelling scars on this one.

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BansheeAckerman@reddit

I don't know much about the subject but to me this seems to be the most compelling argument, these teeth look very distinctive ! Thank you

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ArtHefty542@reddit

I'll find a illustration of the head of the various species to compare with and share. Bear with me, I need to find the right book in the office 😂🫣

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KingCanard_@reddit

Risso's dolphin

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squid0218@reddit

Is that a Pilot whale?

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cmj3@reddit

I concur with others as Grampus griseus

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medussadelagorgons@reddit

It's just a cow-whale. They're very common in htx Buffalo bayou

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Miserable_Badger9465@reddit

Poor baby! 💔

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literally-a-seal@reddit

NOT a pygmy sperm whale, wrong snout shape, big dorsal fin
I think its a long finned pilot whale. Their range includes ireland unlike for example pygmy killer whales. I initially settled on false killer whale but the head shape is just too far off.

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killedbyboneshark@reddit

I actually think the head shape is pretty spot on for a false killer. Pilots have very different pectoral fins and their dorsal would be much closer to the head.

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literally-a-seal@reddit

The pectoral is bent over I think, hiding most of it if it was a pilot. It threw me off initially as well. The head shape looks too rectangular for a FKW imo and matches a juvenile pilot better. Same goes for the mouth placement and "shape" (like how the lines look along the head). Specifically it looks super similar to this image, but the resemblance can also been seen in others.

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killedbyboneshark@reddit

I see what you mean about the pectorals, but the dorsal is really too far back to be a pilot I think.

About the head, I don't know. Hit me more as a false killer whale than a pilot whale (see photo, sorry about the bad quality), but I'm not super sure about it anyway :D Thanks for the whale discourse!

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literally-a-seal@reddit

Yeah no thanks for the fun discussion! I do think it has been solved as a risso's dolphin, the evidence is very solid, but its been fun and insteresting \^-\^

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Specialist-Cost-5516@reddit

You should have laid next to it for scale!😊

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molphin2502@reddit

Risso’s dolphin. You can tell by the tall dorsal fin and like someone else has said, the teeth on the lower jaw

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cesam1ne@reddit

Very interesting..I would say pygmy killer whale but the caudal fins are too short

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TesseractToo@reddit

My best guess is false killer whale https://iwdg.ie/false-killer-whale/

My next guess would be pilot whale but their melon (forehead) is much bigger

It's not a pygmy sperm whale, they have a square head and the dorsal fin is very small and set further back

It's nota pygmy killer whale, the head is wrong and they are not found on shores of Ireland

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