The killer whale or orca is another name for species Orcinus orca. It is a toothed whale that belongs to the family Delphinidae in the order Cetacea.. They are found globally in all oceans. In fact, after man they are the most widespread mammal in the world. Killer whales live in pods. The structure of the pods are usually matrilineal. This means that the offspring wait with their mother throughout life.The individuals in a matrilineal group travel closely together. The killer whale worldwide population is split into many cultures or “ecotypes”. Each population specialises in particular types of prey. Scientists have been debating for years whether the ocean-dwelling mammals belong to a single species or several different ones. New DNA evidence
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As well as dietary preference there are other obvious differences such as size, colour, fin shape, saddle pattern and eye spot. An example of a killer whale ecotype is the New Zealand type which specialise in stingrays. The stingrays possess a spine in their tail which can kill. The killer whales have found a way to overcome this, by inverting the victim so its sting is disabled.
There has been an abundance of research carried out on killer whales around Vancouver Island in Canada . Scientist John Forde and his team analysed each of the families of whales calls that live around there. Each killer whale pod has its own dialect, this allows individuals to recognise their own family members. They discovered that there were extremely different dialect systems in the same Canadian waters. This research led to the discovery of different types of killer whale. There are three main types in the North Pacific. Resident killer whales are found around South East Alaska, some have been found as far South as California. They have a complex matriarchal society. The offspring wait with their mother for their entire life, even after having young of their own. Resident …show more content…
Three different ecotypes have been discovered that have different dietary preferences, distinguishing eye patches and social networks that do not intersect. Type A feed mostly on minke whales. They can be up to 9 metres long which is a 3rd larger than most killer whales. Their size is an adaptation to them hunting whales.
Type B feed only on marine mammals, especially seals that the knock off of pack ice. They have large eye patches and a two-tone grey colour scheme. They have a ragged fin and are medium
As well as dietary preference there are other obvious differences such as size, colour, fin shape, saddle pattern and eye spot. An example of a killer whale ecotype is the New Zealand type which specialise in stingrays. The stingrays possess a spine in their tail which can kill. The killer whales have found a way to overcome this, by inverting the victim so its sting is disabled.
There has been an abundance of research carried out on killer whales around Vancouver Island in Canada . Scientist John Forde and his team analysed each of the families of whales calls that live around there. Each killer whale pod has its own dialect, this allows individuals to recognise their own family members. They discovered that there were extremely different dialect systems in the same Canadian waters. This research led to the discovery of different types of killer whale. There are three main types in the North Pacific. Resident killer whales are found around South East Alaska, some have been found as far South as California. They have a complex matriarchal society. The offspring wait with their mother for their entire life, even after having young of their own. Resident …show more content…
Three different ecotypes have been discovered that have different dietary preferences, distinguishing eye patches and social networks that do not intersect. Type A feed mostly on minke whales. They can be up to 9 metres long which is a 3rd larger than most killer whales. Their size is an adaptation to them hunting whales.
Type B feed only on marine mammals, especially seals that the knock off of pack ice. They have large eye patches and a two-tone grey colour scheme. They have a ragged fin and are medium