Orcinus orca

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Killer Whale

Taxonomy

Subclass : Theria
Infraclass : Placentalia
Magnorder : Boreoeutheria
Superorder : Laurasiatheria
Order : Artiodactyla
Suborder : Whippomorpha
Infraorder : Cetacea
Parvorder : Odontoceti
Superfamily : Delphinoidea
Family : Delphinidae
Subfamily : incertae sedis
Genus : Orcinus

Species status

Living
Found in the wild
Listed in MSW3 2005

Authority citation

Linnaeus, C. 1758-01-01. Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 823 pp.

Authority publication link

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25033888

Original name as described

Delphinus orca

Other common names

Orca

Type material

lost (number not known)

Type kind

nonexistent

Type locality

"Oceano Europæo."

Biogeographic realm

Marine

Country distribution

Algeria · American Samoa · Anguilla · Antarctica · Antigua and Barbuda · Argentina · Aruba · Australia · Bahamas · Bangladesh · Barbados · Belize · Benin · Bermuda · Bonaire · Sint Eustatius · Saba · Brazil · Brunei · Cape Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Canada · Cayman Islands · Chile · Cocos Islands · Colombia · Comoros · Republic of the Congo · Democratic Republic of the Congo · Cook Islands · Costa Rica · Cuba · Curaçao · Cote d'Ivoire · Denmark · Djibouti · Dominica · Dominican Republic · Ecuador · Galápagos Islands · El Salvador · Equatorial Guinea · Falkland Islands · Fiji · France · French Guiana · French Polynesia · French Southern and Antarctic Lands · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Greenland · Grenada · Guadeloupe · Guam · Guatemala · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Guyana · Haiti · Honduras · Iceland · India · Indonesia · Iran · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Jamaica · Japan · Kenya · Kiribati · Liberia · Madagascar · Malaysia · Maldives · Marshall Islands · Martinique · Mauritania · Mexico · Micronesia · Morocco · Mozambique · Christmas Island · Myanmar · Namibia · Nauru · Netherlands · New Caledonia · New Zealand · Nicaragua · Nigeria · Niue · Northern Marianas · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Panama · Papua New Guinea · Peru · Philippines · Pitcairn · Portugal · Puerto Rico · Russia · Saint Barthélemy · Saint Helena · Saint Kitts and Nevis · Saint Lucia · Sint Maarten · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines · Samoa · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Solomon Islands · Somalia · South Africa · South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands · Spain · Sri Lanka · Suriname · Taiwan · China · Tanzania · Thailand · East Timor · Togo · Tonga · Trinidad and Tobago · Tunisia · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom · United States · Uruguay · Vanuatu · Venezuela · Vietnam · British Virgin Islands · United States Virgin Islands · Wallis and Futuna · Germany · Angola? · Bahrain? · Belgium? · Croatia? · Cyprus? · Egypt? · Eritrea? · Finland? · Greece? · North Korea? · South Korea? · Kuwait? · Lebanon? · Libya? · Malta? · Mayotte? · Montenegro? · Montserrat? · Norfolk Island? · Qatar? · Réunion? · São Tomé and Príncipe · Saudi Arabia? · Seychelles? · Sudan? · Sweden? · Syria? · Tokelau? · Turkey? · Turks and Caicos Islands? · Tuvalu?

Subregion distribution

USA(HI?)

Taxonomy notes

previously included O. ater and O. rectipinnus, but O. orca is still paraphyletic as a result of these splits and further taxonomic work is needed to establish species limits within Orcinus more broadly

Taxonomy notes citation

Morin, P. A., McCarthy, M. L., Fung, C. W., Durban, J. W., Parsons, K. M., Perrin, W. F., ... & Archer, F. I. (2024). Revised taxonomy of eastern North Pacific killer whales (Orcinus orca): Bigg’s and resident ecotypes deserve species status. Royal Society Open Science, 11(3), 231368.

IUCN Red List status

Not Evaluated

Species Permalink

https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006423

Country distribution map

The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Known distribution is shown in green and predicted distribution is in yellow. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.

Names and synonyms

Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.

Orca pacifica

(J. E. Gray, 1870)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

pacificus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1165a

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

76

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28554878

Authority publication

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London

Name usages

True (1885:589, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7306383) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/35039)

Orca stenorhyncha

(J. E. Gray, 1870)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

stenorhynchus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1846.8.7.3 (= BMNH:Mamm:361b), BMNH:Mamm:1874.7.6.3 (= BMNH:Mamm:361c)

Type kind

syntypes

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/391c8056-6cad-48b9-b14f-3cf928514b35 https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/63fb830d-04d6-4e7b-b2e0-7b5f352e1c28 https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/c6177273-6acc-4afc-af55-bebfe71ed4a7

Authority page

71

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28554873

Authority publication

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London

Orca Capensis

(J. E. Gray, 1847)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

capensis

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1856.4.10.1 (= BMNH:Mamm:1165b) (= RCS 1139)

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

34

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6957465

Authority publication

London

Name usages

Mead & Brownell (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/9684)

Orca latirostris

(J. E. Gray, 1870)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

latirostris

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:361a

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/5414eb6a-8b81-45e9-8af1-08a6a464cef4

Authority page

76

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28554878

Authority publication

Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London

Orca minor

(A. W. Malm, 1871)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

minor

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

GNMS (number not known)

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

80, 81

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33821005 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33821006

Authority publication

Kunglika Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar

Delphinus Duhameli

(de Lacépède, 1804)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

duhameli

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

lost (number not known)

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

xliii, 314

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51130815 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51131172

Authority publication

Paris

Orca antarctica

(P. Fischer, 1876)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

antarcticus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

lost (number not known)

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

146

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13356537

Authority publication

Journal de Zoologie

Orcinus glacialis

Berzin & Vladimirov, 1982

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

glacialis

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

lost (number not known)

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

31

Authority publication

Priroda

Name usages

Mead & Brownell (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/9684)

Delphinus orca

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

orca

Validity status

species

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

lost (number not known)

Type kind

nonexistent

Authority page

77

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25033888

Authority publication

Stockholm

Name usages

  1. Erxleben (1777:623, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15873420) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36060)
  2. Cuvier (1797:175, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11637257) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/38531)
  3. Fischer (1814:xxiii, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29130084) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/12226)
  4. Illiger (1815:110, 103, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11080959, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11080966) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/38688)
  5. Lesson (1827:409, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207876) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36839)

Delphinus Gladiator

(J. P. Bonnaterre, 1789)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

gladiator

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

lost (number not known)

Type kind

nonexistent

Authority page

23

Authority publication

Paris

Name usages

  1. Fischer (1814:xxiii, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29130084) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/12226)
  2. Mead & Brownell (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/9684)

Delphinus grampus

(A. G. Desmarest, 1817)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

grampus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

lost (number not known)

Type kind

nonexistent

Authority page

168

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18037861

Authority publication

Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle

Name usages

Lesson (1842:199) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36812)

Orca magellanica

(Burmeister, 1866)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

magellanicus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

MACN (number not known)

Type kind

holotype

Authority page

99, 101

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22252637 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/22252639

Authority publication

Annals and Magazine of Natural History

Orca Eschrichtii

(J. T. Reinhardt in D. F. Eschricht, 1866)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

eschrichtii

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

ZMUC CN15x

Type kind

syntypes

Authority page

188

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32540778

Authority publication

London

Phocœna gladiator

(Lesson, 1827)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

gladiator

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

414

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207881

Authority publication

Paris

Name usages

Lesson (1827:414, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207881) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36839)

Phocœna grampus

(Lesson, 1827)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

grampus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

415

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207882

Authority publication

Paris

Name usages

Lesson (1827:415, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207882) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36839)

Orca gladiator

(F. W. True, 1885)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

gladiator

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

589

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7306383

Authority publication

Proceedings of the United States National Museum

Name usages

  1. True (1885:589, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/7306383) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/35039)
  2. Lahille (1899:202, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35147068) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/37834)

Orcinus orca

Corbet & J. Edwards Hill, 1980

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

orca

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

110

Authority publication

London

Name usages

  1. Corbet & Hill (1980:110) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63069)
  2. Honacki, Kinman & Koeppl (1982:294) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63071)
  3. Mead & Brownell (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/9684)
  4. O'Brien, Menninger & Nash (2006:554) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/7321)
  5. Mittermeier & Wilson (2014:497) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67175)
  6. Mammal Diversity Database (2018:ID #15421) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67336)
  7. Mammal Diversity Database (2019:ID #15421) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67337)
  8. Mammal Diversity Database (2024, https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006423) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67250)
  9. Schmidly, Bradley, Yancey & Bradley (2024:59) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67259)
  10. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2024, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15421/50368125) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67246)

Physeter microps

(O. Fabricius, 1780)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

microps

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

preoccupied

Authority publication

Copenhagen

Delphinus serra

(Borowski, 1781)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

serra

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

38

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28342471

Authority publication

Berlin

Delphinus Orca ensidorsatus

(Kerr, 1792)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

ensidorsatus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

364

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/38664394

Authority publication

Edinburgh

Delphinus Duhamelii

(G. Fischer, 1814)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

duhamelii

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

incorrectsubsequentspelling

Authority page

xxiii, 684

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29130084 https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29130771

Authority publication

Moscow

Name usages

Fischer (1814:xxiii, 684, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29130084, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29130771) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/12226)

Delphinus victorini

(J. W. Grill, 1858)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

victorini

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

21

Authority publication

Kunglika Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar

Orca Schlegelii

(W. Lilljeborg, 1866)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

schlegelii

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

235

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/32540825

Authority publication

London

Orca africana

(J. E. Gray, 1871)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

africanus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

vi, 91

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15945524

Authority publication

British Museum Catalogue

Orca tasmanica

(J. E. Gray, 1871)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

tasmanicus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

vi, 92

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/15945525

Authority publication

British Museum Catalogue

Orca gladiator var. arcticus

(P. Gervais, 1871)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

arcticus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

pl. 47, f. 3, 5

Authority publication

Paris

Orca gladiator australis

(P. Gervais, 1871)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

australis

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

540, pl. 47

Authority publication

Paris

Orca gladiator europaeus

(P. Gervais, 1871)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

europaeus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

pl. 47, f. 3, 5

Authority publication

Paris

Orca ater, var. fusca

(Dall, 1874)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

fuscus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority page

298

Authority publication

book

Orca tasmanica

(P. J. Van Beneden & P. Gervais, 1880)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

tasmanica

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

nomen_nudum

Authority page

543

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34018097

Authority publication

Paris

Orca minor

(Trouessart, 1898)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

minor

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

notusedas_valid

Authority page

1049

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53436262

Authority publication

Berlin

Orcinus orca eschrichti

Trouessart, 1905

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

eschrichti

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

incorrectsubsequentspelling

Authority page

771

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/53423652

Authority publication

Berlin

Orca gladiator tasmaniensis

(Cabrera, 1961)

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

tasmaniensis

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

incorrectsubsequentspelling

Authority page

616

Authority publication

Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia" e Institutio Nacional de Investigación de las Ciencias Naturales

Orcinus mörzer-bruynsus

Heintzelman, 1981

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

moerzerbruynsus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Authority publication

Tulsa

Orcinus nanus

Mikhalev & Ivashin, 1981

Family

Delphinidae

Root name

nanus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

nomen_nudum

Authority page

564

Authority publication

Report of the International Whaling Commission

Name usages

Mead & Brownell (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/9684)

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