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ASM's MDD now has both O. ater and O. rectipinnus listed, though acknowledges that O. orca remains paraphyletic. Meanwhile, the Society for Marine Mammalogy (considered a taxonomic authority on marine mammals) recognizes them as subspecies until further research clarifies their status. Separate pages for resident and Bigg's types wouldn't be difficult, at least, but this page might need to be changed. It could be moved to Orcinus and discuss just the genus, which would require a separate O. orca page. Or it could remain as-is (with added information on these recent taxonomic proposals) until there's a clearer picture of what researchers are using. YellowstoneLimestone (talk) 04:16, 18 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's only a matter of time that the paraphyly will get resolved once further research on the other types are done. If we split the two taxa off into their own articles, we could use the common names for the three subspecies SMM adopted but with "orca" instead of "killer whale." So "resident orca," "Bigg's orca," and "common orca." Macrophyseter | talk19:09, 18 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It does seem that we are nearing the time to make a significant taxonomic update here. It would be good to have the paraphyly sorted out, but with MDD being updated, I have no strong objection left. I suggest making this page to be about both the genus and the paraphyly, while information about the two new species can be their own articles. Once the paraphyly is resolved, we can then erect appropriate new articles and make this one to be only about the genus. - UtherSRG(talk)19:43, 18 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As for name, I actually think we should just use the scientific name for the species articles, and continue to use 'orca' for the genus article; the species' common names aren't that common. - UtherSRG(talk)19:47, 18 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I would disagree with the uncommonality of the common name. Both resident and Bigg's/transient (latter being rapidly replaced by the former) were exclusively used to describe the two groups by both scientists and laypeople familiar with them since they were recognized in the 70s. I was also curious regarding adopting full species status instead of subspecies; given that SMM accepted only subspecies status, and there's a good chance that other scientists are going to follow that lead for the time being.
If we used the common names for the articles, then it would grant flexibility for changing between species/subspecies in the taxobox. I suppose that "common orca" is indeed an invention of SMM, but I think a similar situation happened with common bottlenose dolphin and the article just accepted it anyways with a note? Alternatively, we could temporarily keep O. orca as "Orca" and Orcinus as is; I recall having seen a similar precedent of one species taking the base name without any adjectives, but am still trying to look for it again. Macrophyseter | talk23:25, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
TL;DR The sentence in the intro naming 5 threats to orca populations needs citations.
The section at the beginning has no sources while making 5 factual claims (about things that are threats to orca populations). The one specifically that caused me to doubt and made me think to check was the one about capture for marine mammal parks -- With tens of thousands of animals in the wild, and very few such parks with only a few orca each, I didn't see how this could ever be a threat to population numbers. I looked it up, and it turns out, the claim is support by NOAA! So I will add the source for that claim. Unfortunately I don't have the time to research the other 4. Help would be appreciated. WiggyWamWam (talk) 03:16, 9 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The relevant information is in Orca#Conservation. I would agree that marine mammal capture is likely a small issue compared to the others for the global population, although it may be a local issue. CMD (talk) 03:27, 9 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Two studies with opposite conclusions are cited on this subject, but the findings of one of these are retold extensively and stated as fact, while those of the other one are only briefly noted, sandwiched in the middle of the exposition of the findings of the first study, and they are explicitly attributed as the position of its authors only. If this is the only material available, the exposition should be more even-handed, with an equal level of detail and comparable information from both studies and with both positions being explicitly attributed rather than any one of them being presented as the truth. Of course, it is possible that the first study reflects the position predominating among researchers in the field and the second one is isolated, but if so, it should be possible to demonstrate that with more references. 62.73.72.3 (talk) 10:05, 21 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
"Orcas, despite being dolphins, are commonly called 'killer whales' due to a mistranslation of the Spanish 'asesino de ballenas' (literally 'whale killer'), reflecting their historical predation on whales."
This claim is rather problematic cause "dolphins" and "whales" are popular names. They aren't meant to reflect taxonomic conditions. Especially the word "whale" has no clear definition, between baleen whales, sperm whales and beaked whales.
On top of that, the source itself (https://us.whales.org/whales-dolphins/facts-about-orcas/) is pretty problematic. It claims orcas to have been called "ballenas asesinas" (killer whales), so the "mistranslation" theory is out of thin air, then it says that "Orcinus translates to ‘of the kingdom of the dead,’ (not it doesn't, it means "the one related to orcus") and orca refers to a kind of whale (you don't say), then it goes on to say "We know that orcas are top predators, yes, but not the vicious ‘whale killers’ that the ancient mariners thought them to be." which is purely a personal comment, and possibly a factually wrong one. 79.166.36.186 (talk) 07:55, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
As far as I can tell, the claims themselves are correct, but I agree that this is a very weak source to hang the section on. The etymology of both "orca" and "killer whale" would benefit from some dedicated attention, using more reliable sources. From a quick look, it's however going to be something of a hodgepodge of conflicting interpretations. Here is the Online Etymology Dictionary basing "orca" on French "orque", sea monster, while Etymology Online goes off on a surprising tangent concerning testicles. This may take some work. --Elmidae (talk · contribs) 11:56, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
To be honest, I think the theory about the name "killer whale" originating from Spanish for "whale killer" is kind of doing acrobatics with the animal's name. And many sources, including this one, do this as an active attempt to stigmatize "killer whale" as a stereotype and exonerate the animals for being carnivores. It's like political correctness for cetaceans. 79.166.36.186 (talk) 14:48, 27 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
level-4 vital article is rated FA-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
