No photo available
Killer whale (orca)
Orcinus orca
Valid name. Several ecotypes worldwide may eventually be split into separate species.
- English
- Killer whale (orca)
- Scientific
- Orcinus orca
- Dhivehi
- No recorded Dhivehi name
- Group
- Dolphins
- Maximum size
- Males up to about 9.8 m; females to about 8.5 m
- Depth and habitat
- Open ocean and outer atoll waters
- IUCN status
- DD · Data DeficientData Deficient (DD), assessed 2017
Description
The largest dolphin, unmistakably black and white, with a white eye patch, a grey saddle behind the dorsal fin and, in adult males, a towering straight dorsal fin up to 1.8 m tall. It lives in tight family groups and hunts cooperatively. Tropical killer whales often take other dolphins and large fish. It is the top predator of the oceans.
In the Maldives
Rare but regularly reported in the Maldives (about 0.5% of encounters); also detected acoustically offshore. One stranding recorded.
Sources
- sealifebase.se /summary/Orcinus-orca.html
- mammalwatching.com /wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Maldives-cetaceans-review-2012.pdf
- mrc.gov.mv /assets/Uploads/2005-Observations-of-cetaceans-in-the-Maldives-1990-20
- commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File:Killerwhales_jumping.jpg
Dhivehi name source: No Dhivehi name found in the cetacean literature reviewed (Anderson 2005; Anderson et al. 2012), FishBase/SeaLifeBase or Dhivehi Wikipedia.