Species guide
False killer whale
Pseudorca crassidens
At a glance
Conservation, taxonomy and Madeira records reviewed . Review sources.
- Global IUCN conservation status
- Near Threatened — assessment published .
2018 assessment; the linked errata version was published in 2019.
Global extinction risk is separate from sighting frequency in Madeira.
- Identification
- Uniformly black, long and slender body.
- Conical head with a low but quite pronounce melon-like forehead
- Size
- Maximum length: 6.1 m
- Recorded occurrence in Madeira
- Reported on local trips, including September 2026.
- Madeira records and season
- No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records.
Identification and size summarize profile notes updated . Local records are past observations, not a prediction of sightings.
Read the identification notes ↓- Taxonomic authority
- (Owen, 1846)
- Family
- Delphinidae
- Cetacean group
- Odontoceti
Sightings in Madeira
The 2012 checklist documents false killer whale sightings and a stranding; it does not supply a current abundance estimate. Historical evidence.
Our September 2026 trip report lists this species. This is an operator observation, not a population estimate.
No dependable seasonal window established by the cited records. The months in individual reports should not be treated as the limits of a season.
ID characteristics
Uniformly black, long and slender body.
Conical head with a low but quite pronounce melon-like forehead
Erect, falcate dorsal fin, narrow-based, like a parallelogram with roundish top, set on mid-back.
Surface behaviour
Typically fast moving, energetic and acrobatic.
Often approaches boats and bow-rides
When surfacing may raise head and much of body out of the water
Distribution
Widespread between parallels 45º North and 50º South
Worldwide in deep tropical, subtropical and warm temperate waters
Social
In groups of 10 to 50 individuals
Diet
Squid, fish and sometimes seals
Biometrics
Max length: 6.1 m
Adult weight: 1 to 2.2 ton
Blow
Short, bushy shaped blow
Common names in other languages
- Portuguese: Falsa orca
- German: Kleiner Schwertwal, Unechter Schwertwal, Schwarzer Schwertwal
- French: Fausse orque
- Spanish: Falsa orca, Orca negra
- Italian: Pseudorca
- Dutch: Zwarte zwaardwalvis
- Polish: Orka karłowata, Szablogrzbiet, Orka fałszywa
- Swedish: Falsk späckhuggare
- Danish: Halvspækhugger
- Norwegian: Halvspekkhoggar, Falsk spekkhoggar
Other English names
False pilot whale, Pseudorca
Names vary by language and region. This list is not exhaustive. Multilingual name records.
Review sources
Conservation, taxonomy, local occurrence and seasonality checked on . The assessment publication year is separate from this editorial review date. Identification, size, other biology notes and multilingual aliases are outside this review unless a specific source is cited alongside them.
- IUCN Red List: Pseudorca crassidens — global species assessment, published 2018.
- Society for Marine Mammalogy: species and subspecies list (April 2026) — Scientific names, authorities, families and English names. Mysticeti and Odontoceti are treated as unranked groups.
- IUCN SSC Cetacean Specialist Group: Red List status of cetaceans — Global species categories cross-checked against the specialist group's overview, updated October 2025. Regional and subpopulation assessments are separate.
- IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group: November 2018 assessments — Global assessment publication years and category changes. A category change need not indicate a recent population change.
- Freitas et al. (2012): New records of cetacean species for Madeira Archipelago with an updated checklist — Table 1 and species accounts distinguish sightings, catches and strandings. Record totals and last-record dates describe evidence available through December 2012.
The linked trip reports document operator observations. They do not independently confirm every identification or measure population size, abundance or the probability of a sighting.