Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters
Killer whales Orcinus orca occur worldwide in a number of morphotypes that differ in size, pigmentation, acoustic behaviour, food type and genetics – some may indeed warrant subspecific or even specific status. Until recently, all killer whales in South African waters were referred to a single morph...
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ftjafricanj:oai:ojs.ajol.info:article/105905 2023-05-15T17:03:36+02:00 Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters Best, PB Meÿer, MA Thornton, M Kotze, PGH Seakamela, SM Hofmeyr, GJG Wintner, S Weland, CD Steinke, D 2014-07-30 application/pdf http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/105905 eng eng NISC http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/105905/95908 http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/105905 Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the publisher. African Journal of Marine Science; Vol 36, No 2 (2014) 1814-232X info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer-reviewed Article 2014 ftjafricanj 2014-08-03T00:30:24Z Killer whales Orcinus orca occur worldwide in a number of morphotypes that differ in size, pigmentation, acoustic behaviour, food type and genetics – some may indeed warrant subspecific or even specific status. Until recently, all killer whales in South African waters were referred to a single morphotype, Type A, but three individuals (two males and one female) that have stranded since 1969 differ in several respects from other killer whales examined from the region. Adult length is some 1–1.5 m smaller, appendages such as dorsal fin and flippers tend to be relatively larger, and tooth wear is excessive. Although dietary information is scant, one stomach contained the remains of several elasmobranchs, identified from a DNA subsample as blue sharks Prionace glauca, a dietary item that, if habitual, might account for the tooth wear. This morphotype, referred to here as ‘flat-toothed’ and which in several respects resembles the offshore form in the North Pacific and the Type 1 form in the North Atlantic, does not seem to have been recorded previously from the Southern Hemisphere.Keywords: blue shark, dentition, morphometrics, Orcinus orca, preyAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2014, 36(2): 215–224 Article in Journal/Newspaper Killer Whale North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale AJOL - African Journals Online Pacific |
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AJOL - African Journals Online |
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ftjafricanj |
language |
English |
description |
Killer whales Orcinus orca occur worldwide in a number of morphotypes that differ in size, pigmentation, acoustic behaviour, food type and genetics – some may indeed warrant subspecific or even specific status. Until recently, all killer whales in South African waters were referred to a single morphotype, Type A, but three individuals (two males and one female) that have stranded since 1969 differ in several respects from other killer whales examined from the region. Adult length is some 1–1.5 m smaller, appendages such as dorsal fin and flippers tend to be relatively larger, and tooth wear is excessive. Although dietary information is scant, one stomach contained the remains of several elasmobranchs, identified from a DNA subsample as blue sharks Prionace glauca, a dietary item that, if habitual, might account for the tooth wear. This morphotype, referred to here as ‘flat-toothed’ and which in several respects resembles the offshore form in the North Pacific and the Type 1 form in the North Atlantic, does not seem to have been recorded previously from the Southern Hemisphere.Keywords: blue shark, dentition, morphometrics, Orcinus orca, preyAfrican Journal of Marine Science 2014, 36(2): 215–224 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Best, PB Meÿer, MA Thornton, M Kotze, PGH Seakamela, SM Hofmeyr, GJG Wintner, S Weland, CD Steinke, D |
spellingShingle |
Best, PB Meÿer, MA Thornton, M Kotze, PGH Seakamela, SM Hofmeyr, GJG Wintner, S Weland, CD Steinke, D Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |
author_facet |
Best, PB Meÿer, MA Thornton, M Kotze, PGH Seakamela, SM Hofmeyr, GJG Wintner, S Weland, CD Steinke, D |
author_sort |
Best, PB |
title |
Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |
title_short |
Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |
title_full |
Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |
title_fullStr |
Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |
title_full_unstemmed |
Confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in South African waters |
title_sort |
confirmation of the occurrence of a second killer whale morphotype in south african waters |
publisher |
NISC |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/105905 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Killer Whale North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Killer Whale North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
op_source |
African Journal of Marine Science; Vol 36, No 2 (2014) 1814-232X |
op_relation |
http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/105905/95908 http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajms/article/view/105905 |
op_rights |
Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the publisher. |
_version_ |
1766057499028357120 |