Blackfish; Grampus; Killer 



Blackfish 



Globiocephala melas (Traill) 

 Called also Pilot Whale, Ca'ing Whale. 



Length. 15 feet. 



Description. Size large, forehead vertical, high, sometimes even 

 overhanging the lips which are slightly protruding; flippers 

 very long (4 feet) ; back fin situated in front of the middle, 

 and sloping backward. Colour uniform black with a V-shaped 

 white mark on the breast connecting with a white stripe down 

 the belly. Teeth 10 in each jaw. 



Range. North Atlantic, south to Long Island on the American 

 side. Further south it is replaced by the southern blackfish 

 (G. brachypterus, Cope), entirely black, with much shorter 

 flippers and only 8 teeth in each jaw. 



This large animal resembles somewhat the bottle-nosed whale 

 {Hyperoodon), but is recognized at once by its long flippers and 

 numerous teeth. It is said to be more gregarious than other 

 species, associating in herds of two or three hundred individuals 

 which blindly follow their leader like a flock of sheep. 



Grampus 



Grampus griseus (Cuvier) 



Length. 10 feet. 



Description. Similar to the blackfish, with the same high fore- 

 head, but recognized by the higher back-fin, and the absence 

 of teeth in the upper jaw. Colour dark gray above, lighter 

 below and on the head, sides with irregular lighter stripes, 

 flippers black mottled with gray. Teeth absent above, 6 to 

 14 in the lower jaw. 



Range. North Atlantic southward to New Jersey, also coasts of 

 Europe and north Pacific. 



Killer 



Orca orca (Linnaeus) 



Length. 20 feet. 



Description. Size large, forehead flat, back-fin enormous (6 feet 



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