SCIENTIFIC NAME: Pseudorca crassidens

DISCOVERED: Owen, 1846

COMMON NAME: False Killer Whale

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:

No fixed migrations are known- may move from north to south according to seasonal warming and cooling of the sea
In the Atlantic Ocean they are reported from Maryland, USA south through the Caribbean Sea to Venezuela and to northern Argentina
On the east side of the Atlantic they have been recorded as far north as in Central Norway and south to South Africa
Known in the Mediterranean Sea and occasionally in the Baltic Sea
In the North Pacific Ocean they are reported from Alaska to southern California
In the east and from northern Japan, China, and Taiwan southwards
In the South Pacific they are reported as far as south as Australia and New Zealand
Found throughout the Indian Ocean

DESCRIPTION:

Uniformly dark body color- unique "elbow" on flippers
Long, slim body
Slender head and rounded beak
Prominent fin

NATURAL HISTORY:

HABITAT:

Deep offshore waters and some semi-enclosed seas such as the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and sometimes in deep coastal waters
Seems to prefer warmer waters
Photographs

FOOD & FEEDING:

Feeds primarily on cephalopods and large fish
Known to steal fish from lines of commercial and sport fisherman
One of several species of Ôblackfish' reported to attack smaller cetaceans escaping from tuna purse-seine nets in the eastern Tropical Pacific

LIFE CYCLE:

Longest recorded male was 5.96m and the longest female 5.06m
Males attain sexual maturity between 3.66m and 3.72m (males) 3.64m and 3.49m (females)
Average length of sexually mature males in the eastern North Atlantic

BEHAVIOR:

Highly acrobatic- body sometimes leaves water when surfacing to breathe
Readily approaches boats
Fast active swimmers
Frequently emerges with mouth open revealing rows of teeth
Makes sudden stops or sharp turns, especially when feeding
Bow rides
Often breaches, usually twisting to fall back into the water on its side, causing a huge splash for a whale of its size
Makes graceful leaps clear of the water when excited and lobtails
Seems to be susceptible to stranding, sometimes in huge numbers
Often gregarious, forming herds of more than a hundred individuals
Strong central cohesion within herds

WORLD POPULATION:

Not much known but there is current evidence that the species is nowhere abundant

HUMAN INFLUENCES:

Was known for damaging fisheries and therefore, was hunted
Occasionally taken in the Japanese and Taiwanese small cetacean fisheries and used for human consumption
Also some captures in PR China
Some accidentally killed in gillnets off Sri Lanka
May be also accidentally taken in tuna long-line fisheries