Dataset of walvisstrandingen_nl

The database of stranded cetaceans in The Netherlands contains of records of whales, dolphins and porpoises, order Cetacea. All records concern strandings of single individuals (there are four exceptions: one of 3-6 sperm whales and three of 11-61 long-finned pilot whales). The electronic database has been compiled from published records on strandings (see Literature) gathered since 1914 and has been regularly supplemented with data. It contains all records that have been presented to the respective managers of the database, and was started by A.B. van Deinse. Van Deinse and successors have added strandings from before 1914 as well and the oldest record thus far is a sperm whale stranded in 1255. At the moment of publishing with GBIF, the database contained over 12,500 unique records of 26 species (among which five subfossil records of the nowadays extinct Atlantic population of grey whale Eschrichtius robustus and a few dozens of unidentified specimens). The database is considered to be fairly complete since 1914 regarding species other than harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena. Of the latter, records are up to date only since 1971. Harbour porpoise has always been resident species in Dutch waters and it was considered too common by Van Deinse – and records were too numerous – to collect data of stranded individuals until the late 1950s, when numbers were dwindling. Hence, records prior to 1971 are very incomplete, although records from the past have been added ad hoc. All records have been validated before they were published. Individual records contain the Dutch and scientific name as far as animals can be identified (in several cases, stranded individuals have been identified only down to 'group' (e.g. 'small whale'). Identifications have been adjusted when new information became available. Included with every single record, apart from species name, are date and location of stranding, sex, length, state of carcass, storage of remains, autopsied or not, references, photographs, and name of finder/reporter, if appropriate. Between 1 January 2006 - 16 January 2024 the database has been freely accessible at www.walvisstrandingen.nl and managed by Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, The Netherlands. With the publication of the www.walvisstrandingen.nl-dataset with GBIF, all data concerning Dutch strandings until January 2024 are better searchable and the full set, or a selection, can be downloaded. As of January 17, 2024, the dataset www.walvisstrandingen.nl has become a static dataset with 14392 strandings and 45 citations. Unfortunately the dataset will no longer be updated by Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the website www.walvisstrandingen.nl has been deactivated.