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AnAge entry for Orcinus orca


Classification (HAGRID: 02643)
TaxonomyKingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Cetacea (Taxon entry)
                Family: Delphinidae
                    Genus: Orcinus
SpeciesOrcinus orca
Common nameKiller whale

Lifespan, ageing, and relevant traits

IMRNot yet available
MRDT14 years
Maximum longevity90 years (wild)
Sourceref. 784
Sample sizemedium
Data qualityacceptable
Observations

Reproductive senescence has been reported in this species and no female over the age of 48 has been observed to give birth. Maximum longevity in the wild has been estimated to be around 90 years and the MRDT was calculated to be about 14 for females [0784]. Anecdotal evidence, which could be true, suggests these animals may live up to 100 years. In captivity, one wild born animal was still alive at about 37 years of age [0671].

Life history traits (averages)

Female sexual maturity3,780 days
Male sexual maturity4,930 days
Gestation435 days
Weaning471 days
Litter size1 (viviparous)
Litters per year0.2
Inter-litter interval1,096 days
Weight at birth180,000 g
Weight at weaning
Adult weight3,987,500 g
Postnatal growth rate

Metabolism

No information on metabolism available.

References

[0784] Foote (2008), Mortality rate acceleration and post-reproductive lifespan in matrilineal whale species, PubMed
[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0443] Ronald Nowak (2003), Walker's Marine Mammals of the World
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0538] Don Wilson and Sue Ruff (1999), The Smithsonian Book of North American Mammals
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0573] David Macdonald (1985), The Encyclopedia of Mammals

External resources

Integrated Taxonomic Information SystemITIS 180469
Animal Diversity WebADW account
Encyclopedia of LifeSearch EOL
Genome ProjectSearch NCBI
Entrez

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Ageing literature

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