False Killer Whale
| Scientific Name | Pseudorca crassidens |  | |
| English Common Name | False Killer Whale / False Pilot Whale | ||
| Taxonomy | Class: Mammalia Order: Cetacea Sub-order: Odontoceti Family: Delphinidae Genus: Pseudorca Species: crassidens | ||
| Behaviour | Very fast and energetic species, often lifting its entire head and part of its body out of the water when surfacing. Very inquisitive species and known to approach boats to bow-ride and/or wake-ride. Often surfaces with mouth open showing rows of teeth. Usually found in schools of large numbers, especially when socialising. Mass strandings of False Killer whales is not uncommon and several hundred at a time are known to beach themselves. | ||
| World Distribution | They are widely distributed although apparently not abundant anywhere. They appear to prefer warmer waters and although no fixed migrations are known to occur they may show seasonal and temperature related migrations. There have also been numerous sightings in colder waters although this is outside of their normal distributional range. They are mainly seen in deep, offshore (and coastal) waters and there have been several documented sightings of them in both the Red and Mediterranean Seas. | ||
| Morphology | False Killer whales have a dark body colour with a long, slender head that tapers to a rounded beak. Their dorsal fins are large with either a pointed or rounded tip while their flukes are small in relation to the rest of their bodies. Their flippers are short and narrow and set forward on the body, they are also different to many other whales in that they have a unique ‘elbow’ on the leading edge. When they are born false killer whales are 1.6 to 1.9 meters long and weigh approximately 80 kg. When they are fully mature they measure between 4.3 and 6 meters and weigh between 1.1 and 2.2 tonnes. Their diet includes fish, squid and sometimes other marine mammals. | ||
| Threats | Primary threats include incidental entanglement in fishing nets, capture for the captivity industry and directed hunts. False Killer whales can also be susceptible to mass strandings and several hundred have been stranded at one time. | ||
| Status | No abundance estimates is available for this species however they are thought to be rare. | ||
| Conservation Activities | CMS status “not listed” IUCN – Least Concern | ||
