False Killer Whales versus Killer Whales
Both Killer whales (Orcinus orca) and False killer whales (Pseudorca Crassidens) belong to the Delphinidae family. False killer whales resemble orcas because of the shape of their skulls, but the two species are actually not closely related (Baird, 2012). False killer whales are found in all tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate seas (MarineBio, 2013), usually in relatively deep offshore waters (Taylor, et al., 2008). In contrast, killer whales are often found in cold coastal waters (National Geographic, 2015). False killer whales are mostly solid black or grey, while killer whales are easily recognizable by their distinctive black and white coloring (Shamsul, 2012). Both species show considerable …show more content…
They are able to accurately distinguish between different objects by making different clicking sounds and focusing the beam of the clicks they produce (Knight, 2012). Cetaceans are one of only three groups that vocalize with multiple dialects dependent on geographic location. Other groups are both bats and humans (Filatova, et al., 2012). False killer whales produce three types of sounds for communication: echolocation sounds, fast pulsing sounds, and tonal whistles (Yuen, Nachtigall, Breese, & Vlachos, 2007). A study shows that commercially available echo sounders can be heard by marine mammals including false killer whales from hundreds of yards away which could affect the behavior of the false killer whales (Deng, et al., 2014). Because false killer whales have such acute hearing, they are especially threatened by noise pollution created by human activities (Taylor, et al., …show more content…
In a study by Douglas (2009), fifty-four percent of false killer whales encountered were seen more than once, and thirty-three percent in multiple years. Some sighting histories spanned up to eighteen years (Douglas, et al., 2009). Fidelity is even higher in Hawaii where 76.8% of false killer whale sightings were repeat sightings (Culik, 2010). Migration of false killer whales is not well documented, but similar species move from warmer southern waters in the winter to cooler northern waters in the summer; this could be related to prey distribution (Culik,
Both Killer whales (Orcinus orca) and False killer whales (Pseudorca Crassidens) belong to the Delphinidae family. False killer whales resemble orcas because of the shape of their skulls, but the two species are actually not closely related (Baird, 2012). False killer whales are found in all tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate seas (MarineBio, 2013), usually in relatively deep offshore waters (Taylor, et al., 2008). In contrast, killer whales are often found in cold coastal waters (National Geographic, 2015). False killer whales are mostly solid black or grey, while killer whales are easily recognizable by their distinctive black and white coloring (Shamsul, 2012). Both species show considerable …show more content…
They are able to accurately distinguish between different objects by making different clicking sounds and focusing the beam of the clicks they produce (Knight, 2012). Cetaceans are one of only three groups that vocalize with multiple dialects dependent on geographic location. Other groups are both bats and humans (Filatova, et al., 2012). False killer whales produce three types of sounds for communication: echolocation sounds, fast pulsing sounds, and tonal whistles (Yuen, Nachtigall, Breese, & Vlachos, 2007). A study shows that commercially available echo sounders can be heard by marine mammals including false killer whales from hundreds of yards away which could affect the behavior of the false killer whales (Deng, et al., 2014). Because false killer whales have such acute hearing, they are especially threatened by noise pollution created by human activities (Taylor, et al., …show more content…
In a study by Douglas (2009), fifty-four percent of false killer whales encountered were seen more than once, and thirty-three percent in multiple years. Some sighting histories spanned up to eighteen years (Douglas, et al., 2009). Fidelity is even higher in Hawaii where 76.8% of false killer whale sightings were repeat sightings (Culik, 2010). Migration of false killer whales is not well documented, but similar species move from warmer southern waters in the winter to cooler northern waters in the summer; this could be related to prey distribution (Culik,