50 



ORCINUS. 



these sea- wolves, and from sheer love of slaughter more creatures are 

 killed in their forays than can be devoured. They delight in blood 

 and rapine, and the presence of the Killers can be detected in the 

 seas they frequent by the lofty pointed dorsal fin standing above the 

 surface of the ocean and cutting the water like the bow of some swift 

 vessel, as the fierce creature beneath chases its prey. Orcas do not 

 associate together in any large numbers, a dozen being perhaps the 

 maximum, and whenever their presence is known, or the fins are seen 

 cleaving the surface of the ocean, all animals fly for a refuge, even the 

 ponderous Sea Lions seeking the shore. The Killers do not possess 

 much oil, and consequently have little or no commercial value, but 

 some coast Indians hunt them for their flesh, which they highly 

 esteem. This Cetacean is usually seen in the vicinity of the Pribiloff 

 Islands during the breeding season of the Fur Seals, and commits 

 great destruction among the pups when these make their first 

 attempts at swimming not far from shore, for it requires an expert in 

 the art to be able to avoid the swift rush of this powerful mammal. 



21. Orcinus. Killer Whales. 



Orcinus Fitzin., Wiss-Popul. Naturg. Saugeth., vi, 1860, pp. 204- 

 217. Type Delphinus orca Linnaeus. 



Orca Gray, Erebus and Terror, Zool., 1846, p. 33, pis. 8-9. (nee 

 Wagl, 1830.) 



Teeth large, stout, occupying nearly the entire length of the 

 rostrum, which is broad, elongate, flattened above and rounded ante- 

 riorly. Pterygoids separate; premaxillae concave before the nares, 

 narrow in the middle and widening towards end; head depressed, no 

 beak; dorsal large, prominent, pointed; pectorals large, ovate; first 

 and second vertebrae, occasionally also the third, coalesced; ver- 

 tebrae, 52. 



FIG. XVIII. ORCINUS ORCA. KILLER WHALE. 



