Looking at the skull I had concluded the apparently upward directed tooth sockets had either broken through or that it was an optical illusion. I have seen this “sockets breaking through the top” happen in skulls I have found.

And I still am having trouble not suspecting one or the other for a very simple reason: I have never seen a skull with a convex palate as this one seems to have (from all photographed angles) especially at the base where the throat would start; all skulls I have seen, and all those in my collection, have a concave palate, especially there.

Looking at online photos of pilot whale skulls this one’s dorsal contours still seem, other than the odd socket holes, to match the contours of the skulls I find illustrated.

As STVAberdeenCity reports this carcass was found and examined previously in May through Dr Andrew Brownlow of the Scottish Agricultural College. He identified it as juvenile pilot whale, probably at least five years old. The carcass was lying in a different position and still had its jawbone attached.

Also it must be a toothed creature, not a baleen-bearer since it has sockets for teeth, which baleen whales don’t have.

My point here, is that if a “sea monster” does wash up on shore, what are the real chances anyone will take the time to find it out. Any decayed carcass almost automatically gets the whale, dolphin monicker and then everyone moves on. What if our sea serpents are actually evolved from whales or pinnipeds? They’re carcasses might actually look very much like a whale, and how many people have the expertise to really catch something out of the ordinary. There’s plenty of arm chair experts, but not too many “in the know” who can make such claims.

I think that’s one of the biggest obstacles for cryptozoology is “commonplace.” People always want to pigeon hole things, and people want things neat and tidy. So when we come across something that doesn’t fit, the first natural reaction is to try to put it in to something we do know.

So when people come across carcasses, on the beach, in the woods, I’d bet money 99% of the time people relate it to something known and move on. I’m not saying this isn’t a whale, but I’m also saying that how many actual carcasses have been overlooked simply because everyone’s looking for the easy answer…