Genus Orca
T H E K IL L E R S
T h e Killer Whales are the largest of the Dolphins. Many species have been
described, but no one has as yet thoroughly investigated the genus and decided
how many of these so-called species may be admitted.1 The rostrum is broad and
somewhat elongated ; the pterygoids? are separate. The teeth— ten to thirteen pairs
in both jaws— are large, with flat roots. The vertebrae number fifty-one or fifty-
two. One species only inhabits our coasts, and some authorities are of opinion
that only one species exists.
T h e K il l e r o r G r a m pu s
Orca orca, Linnseus.
D elp h in u s orca, Linnaeus, ‘ Syst. Nat.’ 12th ed. vol. i. p. 108 (1766).
D elphinus g ladia tor et orca, Bonnaterre, ‘ C6tologie,’ pp. 22, 23 (1789).
Delphinus g ladiator, Lacepede, ‘ Hist. Nat de C6t.’ p. 302 (1804)*
D elphinus duhameli, Lacdpede, ‘ Hist Nat. de C6t.’ p. 314 (1804).
P hoccena orca, F. Cuvier, ‘ Hist. Nat. des Cdt.’ p. 177 (1836).
Orca gladiator, Gray, ‘ Zool. Voy. Erebus and Terror,’ p. 33 (1846).
Orca stenorhyncha ) q ^ ‘ Proc. Zool. Soc.’ pp. 71, 76 (1870).
Orca la tiro stn s J
Orca orca, Thomas, ‘ Zoologist’ p- 99 (1898).
Local Names.— K ille r - Whale, K iller-G ram pus, L ittle F ig h tin g Whale (England); Morfochyn
(Wales); Pict-w kale, F leckit-w hale, L upster (Shetland); Spakhugger, Staurhynning,
Vagnhund, Hvalhund (Norwegian)
Characters.— The head is broad, conical, and depressed; the dorsal fin erect,
and in the male very high. The pectoral fins are short, broad, and oval in shape.
The whole body is rounded and compact, suggesting the combination of great
1 A better knowledge of the genus Orca than we now possess may show that many, if not all, of the following names are
merely synonyms:—0. schlegelii, Lilljeborg; O. minor, Reinhardt and Malm; O. destructor, rectipinna, and atra, Cope;
O. meridionalis, Flower; O. magellanica, Burmeister; O. capensis, Gray; O. africana, Smith; 0. eschrichtii, Reinhardt