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 
(Hyperoddon), 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 (Linnzus) 
Length. 20 feet. 
Description. Size large, forehead flat, back-fin enormous (6 feet 
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