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The orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus and is recognizable by its black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, it inhabits a wide range of marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
Orcinus is a genus of Delphinidae, the family of carnivorous marine mammals known as dolphins. It includes the largest delphinid species, Orcinus orca, known as the orca or killer whale. Two extinct species are recognised, Orcinus paleorca and O. citoniensis, describing fossilised remains of the genus. [2]
The IUCN reported in 2008, "The taxonomy of this genus is clearly in need of review, and it is likely that O. orca will be split into a number of different species or at least subspecies over the next few years." [3] However, large variation in the ecological distinctiveness of different orca groups complicate simple differentiation into types. [4]
A common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the clade Odontoceti (toothed whale).Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins), and possibly extinct Lipotidae (baiji or Chinese river dolphin).
The orca is known to prey on numerous other toothed whale species. One example is the false killer whale. [69] To subdue and kill whales, orcas continually ram them with their heads; this can sometimes kill bowhead whales, or severely injure them. Other times, they corral their prey before striking.
It was an orca-versus-dolphin matchup, and the dolphin didn’t stand a chance. In coastal waters near Chile in 2023, a massive female killer whale walloped the much smaller dolphin, sending it ...
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The Irrawaddy dolphin shares similar physical characteristics with the beluga whale, but its genetic makeup ties the Irrawaddy dolphin and the killer whale as close relatives of one another. [13] Irrawaddy dolphins have a slate blue to a slate gray color and their bodies can grow up to 180-275 centimeters in length. [14]