False killer whale Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene–Recent [1] | |
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Size compared to an average human | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Infraorder: | Cetacea |
Family: | Delphinidae |
Genus: | Pseudorca |
Species: | P. crassidens |
Binomial name | |
Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846) | |
Range of the false killer whale | |
Synonyms [4] | |
List of synonyms
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The false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus Pseudorca . It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first described in 1846 as a species of porpoise based on a skull, which was revised when the first carcasses were observed in 1861. The name "false killer whale" comes from having a skull similar to the orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whale.
The false killer whale reaches a maximum length of 6 m (20 ft), though size can vary around the world. It is highly sociable, known to form pods of up to 50 members, and can also form pods with other dolphin species, such as the common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). It can form close bonds with other species, as well as have sexual interactions with them. But the false killer whale has also been known to eat other dolphins, though it typically eats squid and fish. It is a deep-diver; maximum known depth is 927.5 m (3,043 ft); maximum speed is ~ 29 km/h (18 mph).
Several aquariums around the world keep one or more false killer whales, though its aggression toward other dolphins makes it less desirable. It is threatened by fishing operations, as it can entangle in fishing gear. It is drive hunted in some Japanese villages. The false killer whale has a tendency to mass-strand given its highly social nature; the largest stranding consisted of over 800 beached at Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 1946. Most of what is known of this species comes from examining stranded individuals.
The false killer whale was first described by British paleontologist and biologist Richard Owen in his 1846 book, A history of British fossil mammals and birds, based on a fossil skull discovered in 1843. This specimen was unearthed from the Lincolnshire Fens near Stamford in England, a subfossil deposited in a marine environment that existed around 126,000 years ago. [1] [5] The skull was reported as present in a number of museum collections, but noted as lost by William Henry Flower in 1884. [6] Owen compared the skull to those of the long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas), beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), and Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus)–in fact, he gave it the nickname "thick toothed grampus" in light of this and assigned the animal to the genus Phocaena (a genus of porpoises) which Risso's dolphin was also assigned to in 1846. The species name crassidens means "thick toothed". [5]
In 1846, zoologist John Edward Gray put the false killer whale in the genus Orcinus , which had been known as the killer whale (Orcinus orca). Until 1861, when the first carcasses washed up on the shores of Kiel Bay, Denmark, the species was presumed extinct. Based on these and a pod that beached itself three months later in November, zoologist Johannes Theodor Reinhardt moved the species in 1862 to the newly erected genus Pseudorca, which established it as being neither a porpoise nor a killer whale. [7] [8] The name "false killer whale" comes from the apparent similarity between its skull and that of the killer whale. [9]
The false killer whale is in the family Delphinidae (oceanic dolphins). It is in the subfamily Globicephalinae; its closest living relatives are Risso's dolphin, the melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra), the pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata), pilot whales (Globicephala spp.), and possibly snubfin dolphins ( Orcaella spp.). [10] William Henry Flower suggested in 1884 and later abandoned a distinction between northern and southern false killer whales. Paules Edward Pieris Deraniyagala proposed a subspecies, P. c. meridionalis, in 1945, though without enough justification. There are currently no recognized subspecies. [11] Still, individuals in populations around the world can have different skull structure and vary in average length with Japanese false killers found to be 10–20% larger than South African ones. [9] [12] It can hybridize with the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) to produce fertile offspring called "wholphins". [9] [13]
The false killer whale is black or dark gray; slightly lighter on the underside. It has a slender body with an elongated, tapered head and 44 teeth. The dorsal fin is sickle-shaped; and flippers are narrow, short, and pointed, with a distinctive bulge on the leading edge of the flipper (the side closest to the head). False killer whales are large marine predators. They are the fourth-largest extant species of oceanic dolphin, exceeded in size only by the orca, and the two species of pilot whales. Females reach a maximum size of 5 m (16 ft) in length and 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) in weight, and males 6 m (20 ft) long and 2,300 kg (5,100 lb). Males are about 10–15 % larger than females. [14] [15] Newborns can be 1.5–2.1 m (5–7 ft) long. [9] [16] Body temperature ranges from 36–37.2 °C (96.8–99.0 °F), increasing during activity. [8] The teeth are conical, and there are 14–21 in the upper jaw and 16–24 in the lower. [17]
A false killer reaches physical maturity at 8 to 14 years; maximum age in captivity is 57 years for males and 62 for females. Sexual maturity happens at 8 to 11 years. In one population, calving was at 7 year intervals; calving can occur year-round, though it usually occurs in late winter. Gestation takes ~15 months; [9] lactation, 9 months to 2 years. [18] The false killer is one of three toothed whales, the other two being the pilot whales, identified as having a sizable lifespan after menopause, which occurs at age 45 to 55. [19]
As a toothed whale, a false killer can echolocate using its melon organ in the forehead to create sound, which it uses to navigate and find prey. [20] [21] [22] The melon is larger in males than in females. [9]
The false killer whale has been known to interact non-aggressively with some dolphins: the common bottlenose dolphin, the Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), the rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis), the pilot whales, the melon-headed whale, the pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), the pygmy killer whale, and Risso's dolphin. [23] [8] [9] [24] [25] They have been shown to engage in depredation at fisheries with killer whales (Orcinus orca), though their diets differ with the killer whales and false killer whales preferring swordfish (4) and smaller fish respectively. [26]
A false killer may respond to distress calls and protect other species from predators, aid in childbirth by helping to remove the afterbirth, and has been known to interact sexually with bottlenose dolphins (see Wholphin) and pilot whales, [8] including homosexually. [27] It has been known to form mixed-species pods with those dolphins, probably due to shared feeding grounds. In Japan, these only occur in winter, suggesting it is tied to seasonal food shortages. [9] [8] [17]
A pod near Chile had a 15 km/h (9.3 mph) cruising speed, and false killer whales in captivity were recorded to have a maximum speed of 26.9–28.8 km/h (16.7–17.9 mph), similar to a bottlenose dolphin. Diving behavior is not well recorded, but one individual near Japan dove for 12 minutes to a depth of 230 m (750 ft). [9] [28] In Japan, one individual had a documented dive of 600 m (2,000 ft), and one in Hawaii 927.5 m (3,043 ft), comparable to pilot whales and other similarly-sized dolphins. Its maximum dive time is likely 18.5 minutes. [17]
The false killer travels in large pods, evidenced by mass strandings; usually 10 to 20 members, though these smaller groups can be part of larger groups; it is highly social and can travel in groups of more than 500 whales. [29] These large groups may break up into smaller family groups of 4 to 6 members while feeding. Members stay with the pod long-term, some recorded as 15 years, and, indicated by mass strandings, share strong bonds with other members. It is thought it has a matrifocal family structure, with mothers heading the pod instead of the father, like in sperm whales and pilot whales. Different populations around the world have different vocalizations, similar to other dolphins. The false killer whale is probably polygynous, with males mating with multiple females. [9] [17] [30] [31]
The false killer whale is an apex predator, inhabiting tropical and subtropical waters. [32] [33] Generally, the false killer whale targets a wide array of squid and fish of various sizes during daylight hours. [9] [34] They typically target large species of fish, such as mahi-mahi, wahoo and tuna. They are also known to prey on marine mammals, such as some species of dolphins and whales. [35] [36] [37] In captivity, it eats 3.4 to 4.3% of its body weight per day. [17] A video taken in 2016 near Sydney shows a group hunting a juvenile shark. [38] It sometimes discards the tail, gills, and stomach of captured fish, and pod members have been known to share food. [9]
In the Eastern Pacific, the false killer whale has been known to target smaller dolphins during tuna purse-seine fishing operations; there are attacks on sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), and one instance against a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) calf. Killer whales are known to prey on the false killer, and it also possibly faces a threat from large sharks, though there are no documented instances. [9] [8] [17] [39]
The false killer is known to host parasites: trematode Nasitrema in the sinuses, nematode Stenurus in the sinuses and lungs, an unidentified crassicaudine nematode in the sinuses, stomach nematodes Anisakis simplex and Anisakis typica , acanthocephalan worm Bolbosoma capitatum in the intestines, whale lice Syncyamus pseudorcae and Isocyamus delphinii , and the whale barnacle Xenobalanus globicipitis . Some strandings had whales with large Bolbosoma infestations, such as the 1976 and 1986 strandings in Florida. [8]
The false killer whale appears to have a widespread presence in tropical and semitropical oceans. [40] The species has been found in temperate waters, but these occurrences were possibly stray individuals, or associated with warm water events. It generally does not go beyond 50°N or below 50°S. [16] [23] It usually inhabits open ocean and deep-water areas, though it may frequent coastal areas near oceanic islands. [41] Distinct populations inhabit the seas near the Hawaiian Islands [42] [43] and in the eastern North Pacific. [44]
The false killer whale is thought to be common around the world, though no total estimate has been made. [45] The population in the Eastern Pacific is probably in the low tens-of-thousands, [46] and ~16,000 near China and Japan. [47] The population around Hawaii has been declining. [41]
The false killer whale is known to be much more adaptable in captivity than other dolphins, being easily trained and highly sociable with other species, and as such it has been kept in several public aquariums around the world, such as in Japan, the United States, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Australia. [24] Individuals were mainly captured off California and Hawaii, and then in Japan and Taiwan after 1980. [9] [8] [17] [27] It has also been successfully bred in captivity. [9] Chester, an orphaned calf that had been stranded near Tofino in 2014 and rescued by Vancouver Aquarium, probably died from a bacterial erysipelas infection in 2017 at the age of approximately three and a half. [48] [49]
The false killer has been known to approach and offer fish it has caught to humans diving or boating. It also takes fish off hooks, which sometimes leads to entanglement or swallowing the hook. Entanglement can cause drowning, loss of circulation to an appendage, or impede the animal's ability to hunt, and swallowing the hook can puncture the digestive tract or can become a blockage. In Hawaii, this is likely leading to the decline in local populations, reducing them by 75% from 1989 to 2009. The false killer is more susceptible to organochloride buildup than other dolphins, being higher up on the food chain, and stranded individuals around the world show higher levels than other dolphins. It has been known to ride the wakes of large boats, which could put it at risk of hitting the propeller. [41] [17]
In a few Japanese villages, the false killer is killed in drive hunts using sound to herd individuals together and cause a mass stranding or corral them into nets before being killed. [50]
The false killer whale regularly beaches itself, for reasons largely unknown, on coasts around the world, with the largest stranding consisting of 835 individuals on 9 October 1946 at Mar del Plata in Argentina. [9] [41] Unlike other dolphins, but similar to other globicephalines, the false killer usually mass strands in pods, leading to such high mortality rates. These can also occur in temperate waters outside its normal range, such as with the mass strandings in Britain in 1927, 1935, and 1936. [31]
The 30 July 1986 mass stranding of 114 false killers in Flinders Bay, Western Australia was widely watched as volunteers and the newly created Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) saved 96 whales, and founded an informal network for whale strandings. [51] [52] The 2 June 2005 Geographe Bay stranding of 120 whales in Western Australia, the fourth in the bay, was caused by a storm preventing the animals from seeing the shoreline; this also caused a rescue effort of 1,500 volunteers by CALM. [53] [54]
Since 2005, there have been seven mass strandings of false killer whales in New Zealand involving more than one individual, the largest on 8 April 1943 on the Māhia Peninsula with 300 stranded, and 31 March 1978 in Manukau Harbour with 253 stranded. [17]
Whale strandings are rare in southern Africa, but mass strandings in this area are typically associated with the false killer, with mass strandings averaging at 58 individuals. Hot-spots for mass stranding exist along the coast of the Western Cape in South Africa; the most recent in 30 May 2009 near the village of Kommetjie with 55 individuals. [55]
On 14 January 2017, a pod of ~100 beached themselves in Everglades National Park, Florida, US; the remoteness of the area was detrimental to rescue efforts, causing the deaths of 81 whales. The other two strandings in Florida were in 1986 with three beached whales from a pod of 40 in Cedar Key, and 1980 with 28 stranded in Key West. [56]
The false killer whale is covered by the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS), and the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS). The species is further included in the Memorandum of Understanding Concerning the Conservation of the Manatee and Small Cetaceans of Western Africa and Macaronesia (Western African Aquatic Mammals MoU) and the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (Pacific Cetaceans MoU). [57]
No accurate global estimates for the false killer whale exist, so the species is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Redlist. [2] In November 2012, the United States' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recognized the Hawaiian population of false killers, comprising ~150 whales, as endangered. [58]
Cetacea is an infraorder of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Artiodactyla that includes whales, dolphins and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel themselves through the water with powerful up-and-down movement of their tail which ends in a paddle-like fluke, using their flipper-shaped forelimbs to maneuver.
Beaked whales are a family of cetaceans noted as being one of the least-known groups of mammals because of their deep-sea habitat, reclusive behavior and apparent low abundance. Only three or four of the 24 existing species are reasonably well-known. Baird's beaked whales and Cuvier's beaked whales were subject to commercial exploitation, off the coast of Japan, while the northern bottlenose whale was extensively hunted in the northern part of the North Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Risso's dolphin is a marine mammal and dolphin, the only species of the genus Grampus. Some of the most closely related species to these dolphins include: pilot whales, pygmy killer whales, melon-headed whales, and false killer whales. These dolphins grow to be about 10 ft in length and can be identified by heavy scarring that appears white. They are located worldwide in cold to temperate waters, but most typically found along continental shelves due to their eating habits. Risso's dolphins have a diet that contains primarily cephalopods. They are able to search for prey at various depths due to their ability to reach depths of almost 600m. Individuals typically travel in pods ranging anywhere from 10 to 50 dolphins, with which they form tight social bonds.
Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Close to forty extant species are recognised. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the Globicephalinae. Delphinidae is a family within the superfamily Delphinoidea, which also includes the porpoises (Phocoenidae) and the Monodontidae. River dolphins are relatives of the Delphinoidea.
The toothed whales are a clade of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales with teeth, such as beaked whales and the sperm whales. 73 species of toothed whales are described. They are one of two living groups of cetaceans, the other being the baleen whales (Mysticeti), which have baleen instead of teeth. The two groups are thought to have diverged around 34 million years ago (mya).
Blainville's beaked whale, or the dense-beaked whale, is believed to be the widest ranging mesoplodont whale. The French zoologist Henri de Blainville first described the species in 1817 from a small piece of jaw — the heaviest bone he had ever come across — which resulted in the name densirostris. Off the northeastern Bahamas, the animals are particularly well documented, and a photo identification project started sometime after 2002.
The tropical bottlenose whale, also known as the Indo-Pacific beaked whale or Longman's beaked whale, was considered to be the world's rarest cetacean until recently, but the spade-toothed whale now holds that position. As of 2010, the species is now known from nearly a dozen strandings and over 65 sightings. This is the only species in the genus Indopacetus.
The short-finned pilot whale is one of the two species of cetaceans in the genus Globicephala, which it shares with the long-finned pilot whale. It is part of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae).
Cuvier's beaked whale, goose-beaked whale, or ziphius is the most widely distributed of all beaked whales in the family Ziphiidae. It is smaller than most baleen whales—and indeed the larger toothed cetaceans —yet it is large among the beaked whales and smaller cetaceans, appearing somewhat like a bigger and stockier bottlenose dolphin. Cuvier's beaked whale is pelagic, generally inhabiting waters deeper than 300 m (1,000 ft), though it has been observed closer to shore on occasion. In these offshore waters, Cuvier's beaked whales execute some of the deepest and longest recorded dives among whales, and extant mammals. The current published records are 2,992 m (9,816 ft) for dive depth and 222 minutes for dive duration as recorded by biologging instruments attached to individual whales. While likely diving to forage and hunt prey, such as cephalopods, and potentially evade predators, the frequency and exact reason for these extraordinary dives is unclear. Despite its deepwater habitat, it is one of the most frequently-spotted beaked whales when surfacing.
The four-toothed whales or giant beaked whales are beaked whales in the genus Berardius. They include Arnoux's beaked whale in cold Southern Hemispheric waters, and Baird's beaked whale in the cold temperate waters of the North Pacific. A third species, Sato's beaked whale, was distinguished from B. bairdii in the 2010s.
The rough-toothed dolphin is a species of dolphin that can be found in deep warm and tropical waters around the world.
The pygmy killer whale is a poorly known and rarely seen oceanic dolphin. It is the only species in the genus Feresa. It derives its common name from sharing some physical characteristics with the orca, also known as the killer whale. It is the smallest cetacean species that has the word "whale" in its common name. Although the species has been known to be extremely aggressive in captivity, this aggressive behavior has not been observed in the wild.
The melon-headed whale, also known less commonly as the electra dolphin, little killer whale, or many-toothed blackfish, is a toothed whale of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). The common name is derived from the head shape. Melon-headed whales are widely distributed throughout deep tropical and subtropical waters worldwide, but they are rarely encountered at sea. They are found near shore mostly around oceanic islands, such as Hawaii, French Polynesia, and the Philippines.
The spinner dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which it rotates around its longitudinal axis as it leaps through the air. It is a member of the family Delphinidae of toothed whales.
The Atlantic white-sided dolphin is a distinctively coloured dolphin found in the cool to temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Cetacean surfacing behaviour is a grouping of movement types that cetaceans make at the water's surface in addition to breathing. Cetaceans have developed and use surface behaviours for many functions such as display, feeding and communication. All regularly observed members of the order Cetacea, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, show a range of surfacing behaviours.
Cetacean stranding, commonly known as beaching, is a phenomenon in which whales and dolphins strand themselves on land, usually on a beach. Beached whales often die due to dehydration, collapsing under their own weight, or drowning when high tide covers the blowhole. Cetacean stranding has occurred since before recorded history.
Cetaceans form an infra-order of marine mammals. In 2020, approximately 86 species of cetaceans had been identified worldwide. Among these species, at least 35 have been sighted in the wider Caribbean region with very widespread distribution and density variations between areas. Caribbean waters are a preferred breeding site for several species of mysticeti, who live further north the rest of the year. The tucuxi and the boto live at the southern periphery of the Caribbean region in the freshwaters of the Amazon River and surrounding drainage basins.
Dr. Amanda Bradford is a marine mammal biologist who is currently researching cetacean population dynamics for the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Bradford is currently a Research Ecologist with the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Cetacean Research Program. Her research primarily focuses on assessing populations of cetaceans, including evaluating population size, health, and impacts of human-caused threats, such as fisheries interactions. Bradford is a cofounder and organizer of the Women in Marine Mammal Science (WIMMS) Initiative.