False Killer Whale
Size comparison against an average human
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Family: Delphinidae Genus: Pseudorca Reinhardt, 1862 Species: P. crassidens
Binomial name
Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846)
False Killer Whale range

The False Killer Whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is a cetacean and one of the larger members of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It lives in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. As its name implies, the False Killer Whale shares characteristics with the more widely known Orca ("killer whale"). The two species look somewhat similar and, like the orca, the False Killer Whale attacks and kills other cetaceans. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (800x640, 177 KB) False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) Photo: Protected Resouces Division, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, California. ... Image File history File links False_killer_whale_size. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_iucn2. ... Least Concern (LC) is an IUCN category assigned to extant species or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Genera See text Oceanic dolphins are the members of the Delphinidae family of cetaceans. ... Johannes Theodor Reinhardt (December 3, 1816 - October 23, 1882) was a Danish zoologist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Sir Richard Owen KCB (July 20, 1804–December 18, 1892) was an English biologist, comparative anatomist and palaeontologist. ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Download high resolution version (1357x628, 40 KB) , (C) User:Pcb21, 2004, User:Vardion 2003. ... This image shows the fluke of Sperm Whale as it begins a dive into the Gulf of Mexico. ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ... Genera See text. ... Binomial name Orcinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 Orca range (in blue) The Orca or Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) is the largest species of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). ... Suborders Mysticeti Odontoceti Archaeoceti (extinct) (see text for families) The order Cetacea (IPA: , L. cetus, whale) includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. ...

The False Killer Whale has not been extensively studied in the wild by scientists; much of the data about the dolphin has been derived by examining stranded animals.

The species is the only member of the Pseudorca genus.

Description and behavior

This dolphin has a slender body with a dorsal fin that may be a foot high. One of the species' distinguishing characteristics is a bend and bulge (usually called the "elbow") half-way along each of the flippers. The tips of the tail fin are pointed and the middle of the tail has a distinct notch. The False Killer is uniformly coloured a dark grey to black. It grows to about 6 m long, may weigh 1,500 kg and lives for about 60 years. Dorsal fin of an orca A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of fishes, whales, dolphins, and porpoises, as well as the (extinct) ichthyosaurs. ...

The False Killer Whale is a social animal, living in groups of 10–50. It is a fast and very active swimmer. It may breach or jump clear of the water and will often land on its side with a big splash. On other occasions the dive may be very graceful, leaving very little wake at all. It will readily approach boats and bow- and wake-ride. It may also emerge from the water head held high upwards and with the mouth open, revealing some of its 44 teeth.

Population and distribution

Although not often seen at sea, the False Killer Whale appears to have a widespread, if rare, distribution in temperate and tropical oceanic waters. They have been sighted in fairly shallow waters such as the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea as well as the Atlantic Ocean (from Scotland to Argentina), the Indian Ocean (in coastal regions) and the Pacific Ocean (from the Sea of Japan to New Zealand and the tropical area of the eastern side). Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Location of the Red Sea The Red Sea is an inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. ... This article is about the country. ... The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, Korea and Russia. ...

The total population is unknown. The eastern Pacific was estimated to have in excess of 40,000 individuals and is probably the home of the largest grouping.

The false killer whale and a dolphin have mated in captivity and produced a fertile child^{[citation needed]}. This is apparently the first mating between two different species that has produced fertile offspring, i.e., without postzygotic barriers. This offspring is called a 'Wolphin'. Keikaimalu the wholphin (bottom), with her parents: a false killer whale (top) and a bottlenose dolphin (middle) A wholphin or wolphin is a rare hybrid, formed from a cross between a bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (mother), and a false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens (father). ...

Human interaction

The False Killer Whale has been hunted, but not extensively, in the West Indies and Indonesia. In Japan, a small number of these cetaceans are killed every year. The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ...

False Killers have long caused anger amongst fishermen fishing for tuna and yellowtail. The dolphins take the fish from the longlines used by the fishermen. This led to a concerted effort from Japanese fisherman working from Iki Island to deplete the species in the area - 900 individuals were killed for this purpose between 1965 and 1990.^{[citation needed]} For other uses, see Tuna (disambiguation). ... A yellowtail may be any of several different species of fish: Chloroscombrus chrysurus Limanda ferruginea Ocyurus chrysurus Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus Seriola lalandi Seriola quinqueradiata Trachurus novaezelandiae Most commonly the yellowtail amberjack Seriola lalandi is meant. ... Iki Island (壱岐島) an island lying between the island of Kyushu and Tsushima in the Tsushima Strait. ...

On 2nd June 2005 up to 140 (estimates vary) False Killers were beached at Geographe Bay, Western Australia. The main pod, which had been split into four separate strandings along the length of the coast, was successfully moved back to sea with only one death after the intervention of 1,500 volunteers coordinated by the Department of Conservation and Land Management.

False Killer Whale and Bottlenose Dolphin at the Enoshima Aquarium, Japan.

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (800x800, 112 KB) オキゴンドウ Pseudorca crassidens 神奈川県藤沢市の新江ノ島水族館のショーでの一場面 cs:Kosatka černá, da:Halvspækhugger, de:Kleiner Schwertwal, en:False Killer Whale, fi:Pikkumiekkavalas, fr:Fausse orque, he:עבשן קטלני, it:Pseudorca crassidens, nl:Zwarte zwaardwalvis Location 神奈川県藤沢市[[:ja:新江ノ島水族館]|新江ノ島水族館] http://www. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (800x800, 112 KB) オキゴンドウ Pseudorca crassidens 神奈川県藤沢市の新江ノ島水族館のショーでの一場面 cs:Kosatka černá, da:Halvspækhugger, de:Kleiner Schwertwal, en:False Killer Whale, fi:Pikkumiekkavalas, fr:Fausse orque, he:עבשן קטלני, it:Pseudorca crassidens, nl:Zwarte zwaardwalvis Location 神奈川県藤沢市[[:ja:新江ノ島水族館]|新江ノ島水族館] http://www. ... Binomial name Montagu, 1821 Bottlenose Dolphin range (in blue) The Bottlenose Dolphin is the most common and well-known dolphin. ...

References

• Cetacean Specialist Group (1996). Pseudorca crassidens. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 09 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• National Audubon Society: Guide to Marine Mammals of the World ISBN 0-375-41141-0
• Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals ISBN 0-12-551340-2
• BBC News: Beached whales saved in Australia (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4602429.stm)