作者
Robert L Pitman, John W Durban, Michael Greenfelder, Christophe Guinet, Morton Jorgensen, Paula A Olson, Jordi Plana, Paul Tixier, Jared R Towers
发表日期
2011/2
期刊
Polar Biology
卷号
34
页码范围
303-306
出版商
Springer-Verlag
简介
Studies have shown that killer whale (Orcinus orca) communities in high latitudes regularly comprise assemblages of sympatric ‘ecotypes’—forms that differ in morphology, behavior, and prey preferences. Although they can appear superficially similar, recent genetic evidence suggests that breeding is assortative among ecotypes within individual communities, and species-level divergences are inferred in some cases. Here, we provide information on a recently recognized ‘type D’ killer whale based on photographs of a 1955 mass stranding in New Zealand and our own six at-sea sightings since 2004. It is the most distinctive-looking form of killer whale that we know of, immediately recognizable by its extremely small white eye patch. Its geographic range appears to be circumglobal in subantarctic waters between latitudes 40°S and 60°S. School sizes are relatively large (mean 17.6; range 9–35; n = 7), and …
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