---
title: "Orca"
description: "Orcinus orca — Mamíferos. The orca, or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/orca
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Orca

> Orcinus orca — Mamíferos. The orca, or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family.

- Scientific name: *Orcinus orca*
- Category: `mammals` (Mamíferos)
- Habitats: `sea` (Mar e costa), `arctic` (Ártico)
- iNaturalist observations: 11320
- Wikidata: [Q26843](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26843)
- iNaturalist taxon: [41521](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/41521)

## Names

- en: Orca
- de: Schwertwal
- es: Orca
- fr: Orque
- nl: Orka
- pt: Orca
- pl: Orka oceaniczna

## Countries with the most observations

US (3727), CA (2950), NZ (354), NO (229), AR (159), AU (95), IS (83), GB (74), EC (69), MX (66), CL (51), RU (46)

## Summary

The orca, or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus Orcinus, it is recognizable by its distinct pigmentation; being mostly black on top, white on the bottom and having recognizable white eye patches. A cosmopolitan species, it inhabits a wide range of marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas, but is more commonly documented in temperate or cooler coastal waters. Scientists have proposed dividing the global population into races, subspecies, or possibly even species.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca

## Photo

![Orca](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/orca/medium.jpg)

Photo: steve b · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/163442610

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/orca?lang=pt` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).