Blackfish (Cetacean)

Blackfish
Short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Mammalia
Sub-class	Theriiformes
Infra-class	Holotheria
Order Information
Superorder	Preptotheria
Order	Cetacea
Sub-order	Odontoceti
Family Information
Superfamily	Delphinoidea
Family	Delphinidae
Population statistics

Blackfish is a generic term for several species of the family Delphinidae, and found throughout the world's oceans and seas.

Description[edit]

"Blackfish" is a nickname describing the overall appearance of these animals as opposed to other dolphins. They range in size from 7 to 32 feet in length, and are primarily black in color, with a few having shades of dark gray; one species has bold white patches. In profile, they possess a blunted head with very little in the way of a beaked snout protruding, and a falcate dorsal fin; four species overlap in their ranges, and are difficult to identify from each other except through the shape of their dorsal fins^[1][2][3].

It is unclear as to the origins of the name; it was first applied in 1634, in reference to several species of bony fish found in North American and Siberian waters^[4]. The name may have been used later by fisherman and whalers; the word "fish" was used interchangeably with true fish and cetaceans for centuries, with "blackfish" coming into vogue to specifically identify the two species of pilot whale^[5][6].

Species[edit]

• False killer whale, Pseudorca crassidens
• Long-finned pilot whale, Globicephala melas
• Melon-headed dolphin, Peponocephala electra
• Orca, or killer whale, Orcinus orca
• Pygmy killer whale, Feresa attenuata
• Short-finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus

References[edit]