Abstract
There are different ecotypes of killer whales (Orcinus orca) worldwide; type D killer whales are the least known. These killer whales have a globose head, an extremely small post-ocular patch and a falcate dorsal fin. We report the first stranding event of type D killer whales recorded in southern South America, in the Magellan Strait, Chile. The group consisted of four adult females, two juvenile females, and two females and one male of indeterminate age class. Total length of adult females averaged 572.8 ± 23.6 cm and juvenile females averaged 397.0 ± 24.0 cm. Dorsal fin height of adult females averaged 57.3 ± 8.5 cm and in juvenile females 30.5 ± 19.1 cm. No obvious signs of anthropogenic intervention were observed. The characteristic small post-ocular white eye patch of this killer whale ecotype measured 21.8 cm long and 5.9 cm wide in the freshest carcass found. All animals presented backswept dorsal fins and a dental formula of 11 to 13 maxillary and mandibular teeth. The length of the largest tooth in each individual ranged from 8.0 to 10.2 cm, suggesting that type D killer whales have smaller teeth. We suggest that the total length of type D killer whales is shorter than other killer whale ecotypes. After 67 years, we report the second known stranding of type D killer whales worldwide and we report for the first time body measurements, size, and number of teeth of this ecotype of killer whales.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Amelot M, Plard F, Guinet C, Arnould JPY, Gasco N, Tixier P (2022) Increasing numbers of killer whale individuals use fisheries as feeding opportunities within subantarctic populations. Biol Lett 18:20210328. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0328
Baker AN (1983) Whales and dolphins of New Zealand and Australia. Victoria University Press, Wellington
Best PB, Meyër MA, Lockyer C (2010) Killer whales in South African waters–a review of their biology. Afr J Mar Sci. https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2010.501544
de Bruyn PJN, Tosh CA, Terauds A (2013) Killer whale ecotypes: is there a global model? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 88:62–80
Durban JW, Parson KM (2006) Laser-metrics of free-ranging killer whales. Mar Mamm Sci 22:735–743. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2006.00068.x
Durban JW, Fearnbach H, Burrows DG, Ylitalo GM, Pitman RL (2016) Morphological and ecological evidence for two sympatric forms of Type B killer whale around the Antarctic Peninsula. Pol Biol 40:231–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-016-1942-x
Durban JW, Fearnbach H, Paredes A, Hickmott LS, LeRoi DJ (2021) Size and body condition of sympatric killer whale ecotypes around the Antarctic Peninsula. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 677:209–217. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13866
Dwyer SL, Visser IN (2011) Cookie cutter shark (Isistius sp.) bites on cetaceans, with particular reference to killer whales (orca) (Orcinus orca). Aquat Mamm 37:111–138. https://doi.org/10.1578/AM.37.2.2011.111
Foote AD, Newton J, Piertney SB, Willerslev E, Thomas M, Gilbert P (2009) Ecological, morphological and genetic divergence of sympatric North Atlantic killer whale populations. Molec Ecol 18:5207–5217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2009.04407.x
Foote AD, Morin PA, Pitman RL, Ávila-Arcos MC, Durbam JW, van Helden A, Sinding MHS, Gilbert MTP (2013) Mitogenomic insights into a recently described and rarely observed killer whale morphotype. Pol Biol 36:1519–1523. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-013-1354-0
Foote AD, Martin MD, Louis M, Pacheco G, Robertson KM, Sinding MHS, Amaral AR, Baird RW, Baker CS, Balance L, Barlow J, Brownlow A, Collins T, Constantine R, Dabin W, Dalla Rosa L, Davison NJ, Durban JW, Esteban R, Ferguson SH, Gerrodette T, Guinet C, Hanson MB, Hoggard W, Matthews CJD, Samarra FIP, de Stephanis R, Tavares SB, Tixier P, Totterdell JA, Wade P, Gilbert MTP, Wolf JBW, Morin PA (2019) Killer whale genomes reveal a complex history of recurrent admixture and vicariance. Mol Ecol 28:3427–3444. https://doi.org/10.1101/520718
Foote AD, Alexander A, Balance LT, Constantine R, Galletti B, Guinet C, Robertson KM, Sinding MHS, Sironi M, Tixier P, Totterdell J, Towers JR, Wellard R, Pitman RL, Morin PA (2023) “Type D” killer whale genomes reveal long-term small population size and low genetic diversity. J Hered 114(2):94–109. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhered/esac070
Ford JKB (2009) Killer whale (Orcinus orca). In: Perrin WF, Würsig B, Thewissen JGM (eds) Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press, New York, pp 650–657
Ford JKB, Ellis GM, Barrett-Lennard LG, Morton AB, Palm RS, Balcomb KC (1998) Dietary specialization in two sympatric populations of killer whale (Orcinus orca) in coastal British Columbia and adjacent waters. Can J Zool 76:1456–1471. https://doi.org/10.1139/z98-089
Geraci JR, Lounsbury VJ (2005) Marine mammals Ashore. A field Guide for standings. National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore
Geraci JR, Lounsbury VJ (1993) Marine mammals ashore: A field guide for strandings. Texas A&M Sea Grant Publication, Galveston
Heyning JE (1988) Presence of solid food in a young calf killer whale (Orcinus orca). Mar Mamm Sci 4:68–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.1988.tb00184.x
Heyning JE, Dahlheim ME (1988) Orcinus Orca. Mamm Species 304:1–9. https://doi.org/10.2307/3504225
Jefferson TA, Webber MA, Pitman RL (2007) Marine mammals of the world. Academic Press, San Diego
Jefferson TA, Webber MA, Pitman RL (2015) Marine Mammals of the World: A Comprehensive Guide to their Identification. Academic Press, London
Kastelein RA, Vaughan N (1989) Food consumption, body measurements and weight changes of a female killer whale (Orcinus orca). Aquat Mamm 15(1):18–21
Moura AE, Kenny JG, Chaudhuri R, Hughes MA, Welch AJ, Reisinger RR, de Bruyn PJN, Dahlheim ME, Hall N, Hoelzel AR (2014) Population genomics of the killer whale indicates ecotype evolution in sympatry involving both selection and drift. Mol Ecol 23:5179–5192. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.12929
Newsome SD, Etnier MA, Monson DH, Fogel ML (2009) Retrospective characterization of ontogenetic shifts in killer whale diets via 13C and 15N analysis of teeth. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 374:229–242. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07747
Otley H (2012) The composition of the cetacean community in the Falkland (Malvinas) islands, southwest South Atlantic Ocean. Rev Biol Mar Oceanogr 47:537–551. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-19572012000300015
Perrin WF, Reilly SB (1984) Reproductive parameters of dolphins and small whales of the family Delphinidae. In: Perrin WF, Brownell RL Jr, DeMaster DP (eds) Reproduction in whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The International Whaling Commission, Impington, pp 97–134
Perryman WL, Lynn MS (1994) Examination of stock and school structure of striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) in the eastern Pacific from aerial photogrammetry. Fish Bull 92:122–131
Pitman RL, Durban JW (2012) Cooperative hunting behavior, prey selectivity and prey handling by pack ice killer whales (Orcinus orca), type B. Antarctic Peninsula Waters Mar Mamm Sci 28(1):16–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2010.00453.x
Pitman RL, Ensor P (2003) Three different forms of killer whales in Antarctic waters. J Cetacean Res Manag 5:131–139
Pitman RL, Perryman WL, LeRoi D, Eilers E (2007) A dwarf form of killer whale in Antarctica. J Mammal 88(1):43–48. https://doi.org/10.1644/06-MAMM-A-118R1.1
Pitman RL, Durban JW, Greenfelder M, Guinet C, Jorgesen M, Olson PA, Plana J, Tixier P, Towes JR (2011) Observations of a distinctive morphotype of killer whale (Orcinus orca), type D, from subantarctic waters. Pol Biol 34:303–306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-010-0871-3
Pitman RL, Fearnbach H, Durban JW (2018) Abundance and population status of Ross Sea killer whales (Orcinus orca, type C) in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica: evidence for impact by commercial fishing? Pol Biol 41(4):781–792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-017-2239-4
Pitman RL, Ballance LT, Sironi M, Totterdell J, Towers JR, Wellard R (2019) Enigmatic megafauna: type D killer whale in the Southern Ocean. Ecology 101(1):e02871. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2871
Pitman RL, Durban JW, Joyce T, Fearnbach H, Panigada S, Lauriano G (2020) Skin in the game: epidermal molt as a driver of long-distance migration in whales. Mar Mamm Sci 36(2):565–594. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12661
Pugliares KR, Bogomolni A, Touhey KM, Herzig SM, Harry CT, Moore MJ (2007) Marine mammal necropsy: an introductory guide for stranding responders and field biologists. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
Purves PE, Pilleri G (1978) The functional anatomy and general biology of Pseudorca crassides (Owen) with a review of the hydrodynamics and acoustics in Cetacean. In: Pilleri G (ed) Investigations on Cetacea, vol 9. University of Berne, Berne, pp 67–227
Rice A, Deecke V, Ford J, Pilkington J, Oleson E, HildebrandŠirovi´c A J (2017) Spatial and temporal occurrence of killer whale ecotypes off the outer coast of Washington State, USA. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 572:255–268. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps12158
Saulitis EL, Matkin C, Barrett-Lennard L, Heise K, Ellis G (2000) Foraging strategies of sympatric killer whale (Orcinus orca) populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Mar Mamm Sci 16:94–109. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2000.tb00906.x
Tixier P, Gasco N, Guinet C (2014) Killer whales of the Crozet, photo-identification catalogue 2014. Centre D’etudes Biologiques De Chize CNRS Villiers En Bois. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1060247
Tixier P, Gasco N, Duhamel g, Guinet C, (2016) Depredation of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) by two sympatrically occurring killer whale (Orcinus orca) ecotypes: Insights on the behavior of the rarely observed type D killer whales. Mar Mamm Sci 32:983–1003. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12307
Visser IN, Mäkeläinen P (2000) Variation in eye-patch shape in killer whales (Orcinus orca) in New Zealand waters. Mar Mamm Sci 16:459–469. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2000.tb00938.x
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Fondo de Fortalecimiento de Organizaciones Patrimoniales 2022 (Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage), Chilean National Research and Development Agency (ANID) (FONDECYT Postdoctoral Project 3210475). We thank the National Fisheries Service for granting permits in order to perform this work and also granted the custody of the specimens to the Rio Seco Natural History Museum, especially Santiago Astete. To Barbara Pinto, Catherine Dougnac, Cristobal Arredondo, Daniela Droguett, Javiera Constanzo, and Ricardo Matus for logistical support in fieldwork. To Cristian Vargas for information on killer whale’s sightings. To Robert Pitman and his team for sharing scientific information and for their willingness to collaborate. To the National Petroleum Company (ENAP) for the photographs and information on the stranding.
Funding
Fondo de Fortalecimiento de Organizaciones Patrimoniales 2022 (Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage) supported the collection of data and samples and transfer of the killer whale to the museum. Chilean National Research and Development Agency (FONDECYT Postdoctoral Project 3210475) supported the collection of data and samples.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
DH designed the study, conducted the fieldwork, provided resources, and then analyzed and wrote the original draft; OB designed the study, conducted the fieldwork, and then reviewed and edited the manuscript; GG acquired funding, provided resources, conducted the fieldwork, and then reviewed and edited the manuscript; BC conducted the fieldwork and then reviewed and edited the manuscript; MC acquired funding, provided resources, conducted the fieldwork, and then reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Haro, D., Blank, O., Garrido, G. et al. Unraveling the enigmatic type D killer whale (Orcinus orca): mass stranding in the Magellan Strait, Chile. Polar Biol 46, 801–807 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03156-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-023-03156-2