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What's
in a name?
The
zoological name (sometimes called the scientific or Latin
name) is comprised of two parts; Orcinus orca. This
is thought to be derived from the Latin word orcus,
meaning the lower world, and therefore it is sometimes translated
to mean demon dolphin.
However,
there are also many different common names for the species.
The Society for Marine Mammalogy lists the English names killer
whale and orca as the most common vernacular names (see Rice,
1998).
In New
Zealand orca is the name used most frequently, while in North
America it is killer whale. Other names include;
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