PORPOISES AND DOLPHINS. 5I 



THE KILLER, OR GRAMPUS. 

 Genus Orca. 



One of the largest, and at the same time the most ferocious, of all the dolphin 

 family is the killer, or killer whale, frequently also known as the grampus 

 (Orca gladiator). It is characterised as a genus by its large size, and the conical 

 and depressed head, devoid of a beak. The back-fin is of great length, especially 

 in the males; and the flippers are large and 

 broadly ovate. The teeth (as shown in our 

 figure) are comparatively few in number, varying 

 from ten to thirteen on each side of the jaws, 

 and are much larger than in any dolphins yet 

 noticed, being often an inch or more in diameter, 

 and having an oval-section. The coloration is 



striking, the upper-parts and fins being black, IHE HRST SIX DPPEE IEETH OF THEKILLEE . 

 while the lower jaw, chest, and under-parts are (From Sir w. H. Flower.) 



whitish. The white area of the under-parts does 



not, however, extend to the flukes, but ends posteriorly in a trident, of which the 

 lateral and shorter prongs extend obliquely upwards on the flanks. There is a 

 large white streak above and behind the eye ; and frequently at least a purple 

 crescentic area extends across the back behind the fin. The killer attains a length 

 of at least 20 feet. 

 D> In spite of many nominal species having been recognised, there 



can be little doubt that the killer has a cosmopolitan distribution ; 

 ranging from Greenland in the north to the coasts of Australia in the south. 

 Although chiefly keeping to the open sea, killers occasionally ascend tidal rivers ; 

 and three specimens were observed in the Thames in the spring of 1890. These 

 individuals entered the river during the night, and on the following morning were 

 seen swimming up and down the reach between Battersea and Chelsea Bridges. 

 After continuing there for several hours, they at length headed for the sea, which 

 they probably reached, as there is no record of their having been attacked. 



. When at sea, killers may always be recognised by their tall and 



nearly vertical back-fin. They generally associate in small parties ; 

 and subsist not only on fish, but likewise on the flesh of other members of their 

 own order, as well as on that of seals. Captain Scammon writes that " the killers 

 exhibit a boldness and cunning peculiar to their carnivorous propensities. At 

 times they are seen in schools, undulating over the waves, two, three, six, or eight 

 abreast, and, with the long, pointed fins above their arched backs, together with 

 their varied marks and colours, they present a pleasing and somewhat military 

 aspect. But generally they go in small squads, less than a dozen, alternately 

 showing themselves above the surface of the water, or gliding just below, when 

 nothing will be visible but their projecting dorsals ; or they disport themselves by 

 rolling, tumbling, and leaping nearly out of the water, or cutting various antics 

 with their flukes. At such times, they usually move rapidly over the surface of 

 the sea, and soon disappear in the distance." It appears that at times both the 



