orcasorkillerwhaleshaveacosmopolitandistributionandseveraldistinctpopulationsortypeshavebeendocumentedorsuggested。threetofivetypesoforcasmaybedistinctenoughtobeconsidereddifferentraces,subspecies,orpossiblyevenspecies(seeSpeciesproblem)。theIUcNreportedin2008,“thetaxonomyofthisgenusisclearlyinneedofreview,anditislikelythato。orcawillbesplitintoanumberofdifferentspeciesoratleastsubspeciesoverthenextfewyears。“Althoughlargevariationintheecologicaldistinctivenessofdifferentorcagroupsplicatesimpledifferentiationintotypes。mammal-eatingorcasindifferentregionswerelongthoughtlikelytobecloselyrelated,butgenetictestinghasrefutedthishypothesis。
Northernwaters
Northpacific
ResearchoffthewestcoastofcanadaandtheUnitedStatesinthe1970sand1980sidentifiedthefollowingthreetypes:
Resident(fish-eating)orcas:thecurveddorsalfinsaretypicalofresidentfemales。
Resident:thesearethemostmonlysightedofthethreepopulationsinthecoastalwatersofthenortheastpacific。Residentsdietsconsistprimarilyoffishandsometimessquid,andtheyliveinplexandcohesivefamilygroupscalledpods。Femaleresidentscharacteristicallyhaveroundeddorsalfintipsthatterminateinasharpcorner。theyvisitthesameareasconsistently。britishcolumbiaandwashingtonresidentpopulationsareamongstthemostintensivelystudiedmarinemammalsanywhereintheworld。Residentorcascanbedividedintoatleastthreedistinctmunities;northern,southernandsouthernAlaskan。SouthernAlaskanresidentorcasaredistributedfromsoutheasternAlaskatotheKodiakArchipelagoandnumberover700individuals。thesewhalesconsistoftwointerbreedingclansdistinguishedbyacousticcallsandwhoserangesoverlap。thenorthernresidentmunitylivesincoastalandinlandwatersfromsoutheasternAlaskatoVancouverIsland。Itconsistsofthreeclansand16podsandnumberover300orcastotal。thesouthernresidentmunitygenerallyinhabitstheinlandwatersofsouthernbritishcolumbiaandwashington,butcanbefoundintheouterwatersoffVancouverIsland,washington,oregonandcalifornia。theyconsistofoneclanandthreepods,andnumberlessthan80individualsandarelistedasendangered。
transientorbiggs:thedietsoftheseorcasconsistalmostexclusivelyofmarinemammals。theyliveinthesameareasasresidents,butthetwoavoideachother。transientsgenerallytravelinsmallgroups,usuallyoftwotosixanimals,andhavelesspersistentfamilybondsthanresidents。transientsvocalizeinlessvariableandlessplexdialects。Femaletransientsarecharacterizedbymoretriangularandpointeddorsalfinsthanthoseofresidents。thegreyorwhiteareaaroundthedorsalfin,knownasthe“saddlepatch“,oftencontainssomeblackcolouringinresidents。however,thesaddlepatchesoftransientsaresolidanduniformlygrey。transientsroamwidelyalongthecoast;someindividualshavebeensightedinbothsouthernAlaskaandcalifornia。transientsarealsoreferredtoasbiggsorcainhonourofcetologistmichaelbigg。thetermhasbeeincreasinglymonandmayeventuallyreplacethetransientlabel。thetransientecotypeisestimatedtohavediverged700,000yearsago。thereareatleastthreedifferent“stocks“oftransientsoffNorthAmerica,theAt1stockwhichoccursfromprincewilliamSoundtoKenaiFjords,theGulfofAlaskaAleutianIslandsberingSea(GoAAIbS)stockandthewestcoaststockwhichrangesfromsoutheastAlaskatocalifornia。At1isconsideredadepletedstock;itwasaffectedbytheExxonValdezoilspillanddeclinedfrom22individualstoeightbetween1989and2004。theGoAAIbSstockmaynumberaround500whaleswhilethewestcoasttransientsnumberover320orcaswithover200alongsoutheastAlaska,britishcolumbiaandwashingtonandover100orcasoffcalifornia。californiatransientsdonotappeartointerminglemuchwiththosefurthernorthandwestcoasttransientsmaybedividedintosub-munities。
offshore:Athirdpopulationoforcasinthenortheastpacificwasdiscoveredin1988,whenahumpbackwhaleresearcherobservedtheminopenwater。Astheirnamesuggests,theytravelfarfromshoreandfeedprimarilyonschoolingfish。however,becausetheyhavelarge,scarredandnickeddorsalfinsresemblingthoseofmammal-huntingtransients,itmaybethattheyalsoeatmammalsandsharks。theyhavemostlybeenencounteredoffthewestcoastofVancouverIslandandnearhaidaGwaii。offshorestypicallycongregateingroupsof20–75,withoccasionalsightingsoflargergroupsofupto200。Littleisknownabouttheirhabits,buttheyaregeneticallydistinctfromresidentsandtransients。offshoresappeartobesmallerthantheothers,andfemalesarecharacterizedbydorsalfintipsthatarecontinuouslyrounded。
Separatefish-eatingandmammal-eatingorcamunitiesalsoexistoffthecoastoftheRussianFarEastandhokkaido,Japan。RussianorcasaremonlyseenaroundtheKamchatkapeninsulaandmanderIslands。over2,000individualresident-likeorcasand130transient-likeorcashavebeenidentifiedoffRussia。Atleast195individualorcashavebeencatalogedintheeasterntropicalpacific,rangingfrombajacaliforniaandtheGulfofcaliforniainthenorthtothenorthwestcoastofSouthAmericainthesouthandwesttowardshawaii。orcasappeartoregularlyoccurofftheGalápagosIslands。orcassightedinhawaiianwatersmaybelongtoagreaterpopulationinthecentralpacific。
NorthAtlanticandadjacent
orcatail-slappinginVestfjorden,Norway
Atleast15,000whalesareestimatedtoinhabittheNorthAtlantic。IntheNortheastAtlantic,twoorcaecotypeshavebeenproposed。type1orcasconsistofsevenhaplotypesandincludeherring-eatingorcasofNorwayandIcelandandmackerel-eatingorcasoftheNorthSea,aswellasseal-eatingorcasoffNorway。type2orcasconsistoftwohaplotypes,andmainlyfeedonbaleenwhales。
InthemediterraneanSea,orcasareconsidered“visitors“,likelyfromtheNorthAtlantic,andsightingsbeelessfrequentfurthereast。however,asmallyear-roundpopulationexistsintheStraitofGibraltar,whichnumberedaround39in2011。distinctpopulationsmayalsoexistoffthewestcoastoftropicalAfrica,whichhavegeneralizeddiets。
thenorthwestAtlanticpopulationisfoundyear-roundaroundLabradorandNewfoundland,whilesomeindividualsseasonallytraveltothewatersoftheeasterncanadianArcticwhentheicehasmelted。SightingsofthesewhaleshavebeendocumentedasfarsouthascapecodandLongIsland。thispopulationispossiblycontinuouswithorcassightedoffGreenland。orcasaresightedyear-roundinthecaribbeanSea,andanestimated267(asof2020)isdocumentedinthenorthernGulfofmexico。
NorthIndianocean
over50individualwhaleshavebeencatalogedinthenorthernIndianocean,includingtwoindividualsthatweresightedinthepersianGulfin2008andoffSriLankain2015。
Southernwaters
orcabeachingtocapturesealionatValdespeninsula
AsmallpopulationoforcasseasonallyvisitsthenorthernpointoftheValdespeninsulaontheeastcoastofArgentinaandhuntforsealionsandelephantsealsontheshore,temporarystrandingthemselves。offSouthAfrica,adistinctive“flat-tooth“morphotypeexistsandpreysonsharks。Apairofmaleorcas,portandStarboard,havebeewellknownforhuntinggreatwhitesandothersharksofftheSouthAfricancoast。
orcasoccurthroughoutthewatersofAustralia,NewZealandandpapuaNewGuinea。theyaresightedyearroundinNewZealandwaters,whileoffAustralia,theyareseasonallyconcentratedoffthenorthwest,intheinshorewatersofNingalooReef,andthesouthwest,atthebremerregion。GeneticevidenceshowsthattheorcasofNewZealand,andnorthwestandsouthwestAustraliaformthreedistinctpopulations。NewZealandorcasmainlypreyonsharksandrays。
Antarctic
Around25,000orcasareestimatedaroundtheAntarctic,andfourtypeshavebeendocumented。twodwarfspecies,namedorcinusnanusandorcinusglacialis,weredescribedduringthe1980sbySovietresearchers,butmostcetaceanresearchersareskepticalabouttheirstatus,andlinkingthesedirectlytothetypesdescribedbelowisdifficult。
Someexamplesofvariationsinorcas
typeAorAntarcticorcaslooklikea“typical“orca,alarge,black-and-whiteformwithamedium-sizedwhiteeyepatch,livinginopenwaterandfeedingmostlyonminkewhales。
typeb1orpackiceorcasaresmallerthantypeA。Ithasalargewhiteeyepatch。mostofthedarkpartsofitsbodyaremediumgreyinsteadofblack,althoughithasadarkgreypatchcalleda“dorsalcape“stretchingbackfromitsforeheadtojustbehinditsdorsalfin。thewhiteareasarestainedslightlyyellow。Itfeedsmostlyonseals。typeb1orcaareabundantbetweenAdelaideIslandandthemainlandAntarcticpeninsula。
typeb2orGerlacheorcasaremorphologicallysimilartotypeb1,butsmaller。thisecotypehasbeenrecordedfeedingonpenguinsandseals,andisoftenfoundintheGerlacheStrait。
typecorRossSeaorcasarethesmallestecotypeandliveinlargergroupsthantheothers。Itseyepatchisdistinctivelyslantedforwards,ratherthanparalleltothebodyaxis。Liketypeb,itisprimarilywhiteandmediumgrey,withadarkgreydorsalcapeandyellow-tingedpatches。ItsonlyobservedpreyistheAntarcticcod。
typedorSub-Antarcticorcaswerefirstidentifiedbasedonphotographsofa1955massstrandinginNewZealandandsixat-seasightingssince2004。thefirstvideorecordofthistypewasmadein2014betweentheKerguelenandcrozetIslands,andagainin2017offthecoastofcapehorn,chile。Itisrecognizablebyitssmallwhiteeyepatch,narrowerandshorterthanusualdorsalfin,bulboushead(similartoapilotwhale),andsmallerteeth。Itsgeographicrangeappearstobecircumglobalinsub-Antarcticwatersbetweenlatitudes40°Sand60°S。Althoughitsdietisnotdetermined,itlikelyincludesfish,asdeterminedbyphotographsaroundlonglinevessels,wheretypedorcasappearedtobepreyingonpatagoniantoothfish(dissostichuseleginoides)。
typesbandcliveclosetotheice,anddiatomsinthesewatersmayberesponsiblefortheyellowishcolouringofbothtypes。mitochondrialdNAsequencessupportthetheorythatthesearerecentlydivergedseparatespecies。morerecently,pletemitochondrialsequencingindicatesthetypesbandcberecognizedasdistinctspecies,asshouldtheNorthpacifictransients,leavingtheothersassubspeciespendingadditionaldata。AdvancedmethodsthatsequencedtheentiremitochondrialgenomerevealedsystematicdifferencesindNAbetweendifferentpopulations。A2019studyoftypedorcasalsofoundthemtobedistinctfromotherpopulationsandpossiblyevenauniquespecies。