Orcinus orca   (Linnaeus, 1758)

Killer whale

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Orcinus orca  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Orcinus orca

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Mammalia | Cetartiodactyla | Delphinidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Pelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 75906); depth range 0 - 2652 m (Ref. 116169).  Tropical; 90°N - 90°S, 180°W - 180°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Circumglobal. Climate: cosmopolitan.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 570 - 660 cm Max length : 980 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1394); 850 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 10.0 t (Ref. 1394)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Transient migration (Ref. 8689). Lives in matrilines throughout their lifetime (Ref. 97337). Commonly found in nearshore, cold temperate to subpolar waters (Refs. 1394, 936). Forms large social groups and strong social bonds. Feeds cooperatively (Ref. 122680). Feeds on sharks, large baleen whales (Ref. 122680), all oceanic cetaceans, pinniped, penguins, and other seabirds, leatherback turtles, squid and many types of fish (Refs. 1394, 936).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Polygamous (Ref. 8653). Sexually dimorphic; males are larger than females (Ref. 97315). Females have higher preference for non-pod males that arrive as part of a matriline than males that arrive alone. Multiple mating occurs based on testis size to body size ratios; females mate with more than one male during associations between pods (Ref. 97337). Calving is diffusely seasonal, with a peak in autumn for northeastern Pacific species (Ref. 97343).

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Tan, J.M.L. 1995. (Ref. 936)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 20 June 2017

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Appendix II: International trade monitored

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Appendix II: Migratory species conserved through agreements

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings, species profile | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance
References
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: species profile; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.3 - 13.1, mean 3.1 (based on 13394 cells).
Resilience (Ref. 69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.1-0.17; tm=9.4).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.