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

"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.

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. 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.

Species

• 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