Field Guide to Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises

Practical and portable, this is the ultimate field guide to the world's cetaceans.

This outstanding new field guide to whales, dolphins and porpoises is the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date guide to these popular mammals. With more than 500 accurate and detailed illustrations - complete with detailed annotations pointing out the most significant field marks - this new field guide covers all 93 species and every subspecies in the world.

Many of the world's most respected whale biologists have collaborated on the concise text, which is packed with helpful identification tips from cetacean expert, Mark Carwardine. Mark's informative text is accompanied by up-to-date distribution maps for each species. Beautifully designed, to ensure critical information is quickly accessible, this is an indispensable resource that every whale-watcher will want to carry out to sea.

ISBN-13: 9781472969972

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Publication Date: 07-26-2022

Pages: 288

Product Dimensions: 5.55(w) x 8.45(h) x 0.70(d)

Series: Bloomsbury Naturalist

Mark Carwardine is a zoologist, writer, radio and TV presenter, wildlife photographer, whale-watch operator and an active and outspoken conservationist, with a special interest in cetaceans. His TV series include BBC's Last Chance to See with Stephen Fry, and for many years he presented the weekly half-hour programme Nature on BBC Radio 4. Mark writes a monthly column in BBC Wildlife magazine and has written more than 50 books on wildlife and conservation, including the Handbook of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises, Mark Carwardine's Guide to Whale Watching in Britain and Europe and Mark Carwardine's Guide to Whale Watching in North America.

Table of Contents

How to use this book 4

The challenges of identification 6

Cetacean topography 10

Quick ID guides

Bow-riding dolphins and porpoises 12

Identifying whales by their flukes 14

Identifying whales by their blows 16

Identifying male beaked whales by their lower jaws 18

Cetaceans of the North Atlantic Ocean 20

Cetaceans of the South Atlantic Ocean 22

Cetaceans of the North Pacific Ocean 24

Cetaceans of the South Pacific Ocean 26

Cetaceans of the Indian Ocean 28

Cetaceans of the Arctic Ocean 30

Cetaceans of the Southern Ocean 31

Right and bowhead whales (family Balaenidae) 32

Pygmy right whale (family Neobalaenidae) 48

Grey whale (family Eschrichtlidae) 50

Rorquals (family Balaenopteridae) 54

Sperm whales (families Physeteridae, Kogiidae) 90

Narwhal and beluga (family Monodontidae) 98

Beaked whales (family Ziphlidae) 104

Blackfish (family Delphinidae) 154

Shorter-beaked oceanic dolphins (family Delphinidae) 180

Longer-beaked oceanic dolphins (family Delphinidae) 214

River dolphins (families Platanistidae, Iniidae, Pontoporiidae, Lipotidae) 252

Porpoises (family Phocoenidae) 262

Caring for whales, dolphins and porpoises 276

Glossary 277

Species checklist 280

Sources and resources 282

Artists' biographies 283

Image credits 283

Acknowledgements 284

Index 286

Show More