False Killer Whale

(Pseudorca crassidens), an aquatic mammal of the family Delphinidae of the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). The body length of the male measures up to 6 m and the weight up to 1.5 tons; the female measures up to 5 m long and weighs up to 1 ton. The coloration is black, with a narrow white stripe on the belly. The head is rounded at the end. There are about 40 conic-shaped teeth, each measuring up to 28 mm in diameter.

The false killer whale is distributed in all temperate and warm waters of all the oceans; in the USSR it is found near the Kuril Ridge. It feeds on fish, including tuna, and cephalopods. It bears one offspring measuring about 1.6-1.8 m long. False killer whales associate in schools of many individuals. They are kept in oceanariums on the Hawaiian Islands, in Japan, and in the USA. In captivity the false killer whale submits readily to training. It is not an object of commerce.