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WoRMS taxon details

Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) 
AphiaID: 137102

Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Tetrapoda (Superclass) > Mammalia (Class) > Theria (Subclass) > Cetartiodactyla (Order) > Cetancodonta (Suborder) > Cetacea (Infraorder) > Odontoceti (Superfamily) > Delphinidae (Family) > Orcinus (Genus)
Status accepted
Record
status
 Checked by Taxonomic Editor
Rank Species
Parent Orcinus Fitzinger, 1860
Synonymised
taxa
  Delphinus duhameli Lacépède, 1804 (synonym)
Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789 (synonym)
Delphinus grampus Blainville, 1817 (synonym)
Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 (basionym)
Delphinus orca ensidoratus Kerr, 1792 (synonym)
Delphinus serra Borowski, 1780 (synonym)
Delphinus victorini Grill, 1858 (synonym)
Grampus orca Iredale & Troughton, 1933 (synonym)
Grampus rectipinna Scheffer, 1942 (synonym)
Ophysia pacifica Gray, 1870 (synonym)
Orca africana Gray, 1871 (synonym)
Orca antarctica Fischer, 1876 (synonym)
Orca ater Cope, 1869 (synonym)
Orca ater fusca Dall, 1874 (synonym)
Orca atra Gray, 1871 (misspelling)
Orca capensis Gray, 1846 (synonym)
Orca eschrichtii Reinhardt, 1866 (synonym)
Orca glacialis Berzin & Vladimirov, 1982 (synonym)
Orca gladiator Van Beneden & Gervais, 1869-1880 (synonym)
Orca gladiator arcticus Gervais, 1869-1871 (synonym)
Orca gladiator australis Gervais, 1869-1871 (synonym)
Orca gladiator europaeus Gervais, 1869-1871 (synonym)
Orca gladiator tasmaniensis Cabrera, 1961 (synonym)
Orca latirostris Gray, 1870 (synonym)
Orca megellanica Burmeister, 1866 (synonym)
Orca minor Malm, 1871 (synonym)
Orca orca Lahille, 1914 (synonym)
Orca orca megallanicus (synonym)
Orca pacifica Gray, 1870 (synonym)
Orca rectipinna Cope, 1869 (synonym)
Orca schlegelii Lilljeborg, 1866 (synonym)
Orca stenorhyncha Gray, 1870 (synonym)
Orca tasmanica Gray, 1871 (synonym)
Orcinus glacialis Berzin & Vladimirov, 1982 (synonym)
Orcinus nanus Mikhalev, Ivashin, Savusin & Zelenaya, 1981 (synonym)
Orcinus orca capensis Trouessart, 1904 (synonym)
Orcinus orca eschrichti Trouessart, 1904 (synonym)
Orcinus orca megallanicus Trouessart, 1904 (synonym)
Physeter microps Fabricius, 1780 (synonym)
Sources  original description: Linnaeus C. (1758). Systema Naturae. Editio Decima, Tomus I. Holmiae [Stockholm]: Laurentii Salvii.
page(s): 77 [details]


basis of record: van der Land, J. (2001). Tetrapoda, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 375-376 (look up in IMIS[details]

additional source: Carwardine, M., E. Hoyt, R. E. Fordyce and P. Gill. 1998. Whales, dolphins and porpoises. Time-Life Books. Nature Company Guides, USA. 288 p. [details]

additional source: University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Animal Diversity Web., available online at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html [details]

additional source: ITIS database, available online at http://www.itis.gov [details]

additional source: Mead, J. G. and R. L. Brownell, Jr. (2005). Cetacea. Pages 723--743 in Wilson, D.E. & D.M. Reeder (eds). Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), Johns Hopkins University Press, 2,142 pp., available online at http://www.bucknell.edu/msw3/ [details]

additional source: Rice, D. W. 1998. Marine mammals of the world. Systematics and distribution. Society for Marine Mammalogy Special Publication 4. [details]

additional source: Hershkovitz, P. (1966). Catalog of living whales. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 246:1--259. [details]

additional source: Jefferson, T. A., M. A. Webber and R. L. Pitman. (2008). Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008., available online at http://www.iucnredlist.org [details]

additional source: Perrin, W. F., B. Würsig and J. G. M. Thewissen. (2009). Encyclopedia of marine mammals. Academic Press, Amsterdam. [details]

additional source: Heyning, J. E. and M. E. Dahlheim. (1988). Orcinus orca. Mammalian Species 304:1--9. [details]

additional source: King, C. (2009). Terrestrial mammals (Chordata). In: Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp [details]

additional source: Schmidly, D. J. and B. Würsig. 2009. Mammals (Vertebrata: Mammalia) of the Gulf of Mexico, Pp. 1343–1352 in Felder, D.L. and D.K. Camp (eds.), Gulf of Mexico–Origins, Waters, and Biota. Biodiversity. Texas A&M Press, College Station, Texas. [details]

Vernacular
Names
 
Language   Name 
Aleutian aguluk  [details]
Aleutian dukulad  [details]
Auns nookur  [details]
Chukchi (Louravetlany) musonkjgyssiak  [details]
Czech kosatka dravá  [details]
Danish spaekhogger  [details]
Danish svaerdval  [details]
Danish svarthval  [details]
Danish tandthoye  [details]
Dutch botskop  [details]
Dutch orka  [details]
English grampus  [details]
English killer whale  [details]
English killer-trasher  [details]
English orca  [details]
English sword grampus  [details]
English swordfish  [details]
French dorque  [details]
French epaulard  [details]
French epée de mer  [details]
French orque  [details]
French orque épaulard  [details]
French orque gladiateur  [details]
German Schwertfisch  [details]
German Schwertwal  [details]
Greenlandic ardlursark  [details]
Greenlandic ardlyk  [details]
Icelandic fann-fiskar-hydengen  [details]
Icelandic haa-hirningur  [details]
Icelandic hahyrna  [details]
Icelandic huyding  [details]
Icelandic sverdfiscur  [details]
Japanese sadshi  [details]
Japanese sakamata  [details]
Japanese shachi  [details]
Korean innuatu  [details]
Norwegian spaekhogger  [details]
Norwegian spekkhugger  [details]
Norwegian starhyn ning  [details]
Norwegian staurhval  [details]
Norwegian stourvaga  [details]
Norwegian stourvagn  [details]
Norwegian vaghund  [details]
Norwegian van hund  [details]
Portuguese orca  [details]
Russian kasatka  [details]
Russian kosatka  [details]
Scottish pictwale  [details]
Slovenian Orka  [details]
Spanish orca  [details]
Swedish löpare  [details]
Swedish opare  [details]
Swedish spackhuggare  [details]
Swedish svärdfisk  [details]
Swedish tunnlik tumlare  [details]
Yupik mesungesak  [details]
Direct child
taxa
 Subspecies Orcinus orca capensis Trouessart, 1904 accepted as Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies Orcinus orca eschrichti Trouessart, 1904 accepted as Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies Orcinus orca megallanicus Trouessart, 1904 accepted as Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)
Environment marine
Distribution Antarctica (Large Marine Ecosystem) [details]
Belgian Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
Comores [details]
European waters (ERMS scope) [details]
Gulf of Maine [details]
Gulf of Mexico [details]
Kenya [details]
Madagascar [details]
Mauritius [details]
Mediterranean Sea [details]
Mozambique [details]
New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone [details]
North West Atlantic [details]
Oostende (from synonym) [details]
Reunion [details]
Seychelles [details]
Somalia [details]
Subantarctic Waters [details]
Tanzania [details]
World Oceans [details]
Links To GenBank
Marine Life Information Network - UK
To Marine Species Identification Portal
To Barcode of Life (2 barcodes)
To ITIS
Notes  Diet: Numerous fish, squid, and marine mammal species, including blue whales; even gulls, penguins and turtles. [details]

Dimensions: Length: male 17-29 1/2' (5.1-9 m), female 15-25 1/2' (4.6-7.7 m), at birth 6'+ (1.9 m +). Largest of all dolphins. [details]

Distribution: cosmopolitan [details]

Distribution: Antarctica/Southern Ocean; East Pacific; Eastern Atlantic Ocean; Indo-West Pacific; Western Atlantic Ocean [details]

Habitat: inshore and offshore [details]

Holotype: None in existence; name based on killer whale of authors. [details]

IUCN Red List Category: Data Deficient (DD) [details]

Predators: None [details]

Reproduction: Breed in spring and summer off the coast of Washington. Gestation is a year. [details]

Type locality: "Oceano Europaeo" [details]
Images 
Orcinus orca
Orcinus orca
added on 2006-04-11 - author: Armin Rose
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:21:41

Orcinus orca - killer whale (mum and calf)
Orcinus orca - killer whale (mum and calf)
added on 2006-06-26 - author: Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) ()
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:21:52

Spinal column of Orcinus orca
Spinal column of Orcinus orca
added on 2007-05-27 - author: Martin Rauschert
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:22:05

Van Beneden (1882, plaat 1)
Van Beneden (1882, plaat 1)
added on 2008-05-07 - author: Van Cuyck in Van Beneden, P.-J. (1882)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:22:13

Van Beneden (1882, plaat 2)
Van Beneden (1882, plaat 2)
added on 2008-05-07 - author: Anoniem in Van Beneden, P.-J. (1882)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:22:50

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 46)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 46)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:23:01

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 47)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 47)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:23:10

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 48)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 48)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:23:20

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 49)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 49)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:23:33

Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 53)
Van Beneden & Gervais (1880, plaat 53)
added on 2008-06-04 - author: Delahaye in Van Beneden & Gervais (1880)
scan provided by VLIZ - www.wetenschatten.be
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:23:45

Orcinus orca
Orcinus orca
added on 2009-02-16 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:23:56

Orcinus orca
Orcinus orca
added on 2009-02-16 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:24:07

Orcinus orca
Orcinus orca
added on 2009-02-16 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:24:18

Orcinus orca
Orcinus orca
added on 2009-02-16 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:24:29

Orcinus orca
Orcinus orca
added on 2009-02-16 - author: Collection Georges Declercq
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-18 00:24:37

Killer whales (Orcinus orca)
Killer whales (Orcinus orca)
added on 2009-04-22 - author: Robert L. Pitman, NOAA Fisheries, USA ()
qualitystatus: checked by Perrin, William on 2009-04-22 19:31:25
Edit
history
 
Date   action   by
2004-12-21 15:54:05Z  created  van der Land, Jacob
2008-08-20 11:25:36Z  checked  Perrin, William
  
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  Citation: Perrin, W. (2009). Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Perrin, W.F. World Cetacea Database. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=137102 on 2010-09-02
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