Upper jaw projecting a little beyond the lower : teeth about eleven on each side above and below; conical, bent at the summits : pectoral fins broad and oval.

D. Orca,Flem.Brit. An. p. 34. D. Grampus, Desm. Mammal, p. 517. Grampus, Hunter in Phil. Trans. 1787, pi. 16.

Dimensions

Entire length from twenty to twenty-five feet.

Description

Much larger than the last species; the body deeper and thicker in proportion to its length. Snout very short and obtuse: upper jaw somewhat longer than the lower, but this last broader than the upper: teeth unequal, conical, a little bent at the summits; varying in number according to the age of the individual, generally about twenty two in each jaw: eyes almost in the same line with the mouth: dorsal fin nearly in the middle, very much elevated, and pointed at the extremity : pectorals very broad, of an oval form: tail crescent-shaped. Skin smooth; glossy black above, white beneath, the two colours meeting on the sides but separated by a well-defined line; an oval white spot behind each eye.

Inhabits the British seas in large herds, and occasionally enters rivers. Is of a fierce and voracious disposition, preying upon the larger species of fish. - Obs. The Delphinus Gladiator and the D. ventricosus of Lace-pede, two species constituted by that author from individuals taken in the Thames, are considered by Cuvier as not really distinct from the above.