Sometimes taxonomists create new names for groups that already have a name. They may do this because they are unaware of the original name, or they may think the organism before them belongs to a different group when in fact it does not. If two or more names are found to apply to the same group, they are considered synonyms. In most cases, the first name takes priority and is considered to be the valid or accepted name. However, there can be exceptions, and it's not always easy to determine which of a series of synonyms should be considered valid or accepted. Here we list the synonyms provided to EOL by our classification partners. We also include other versions of the name that most likely refer to the same group, for example, misspellings in the literature or different variations of the authorship associated with the name.
marks the preferred name from each source.
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
| Name | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Preferred |
| Delphinus duhameli Lacépède, 1804 | Synonym |
| Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789 | Synonym |
| Delphinus grampus Blainville, 1817 | Synonym |
| Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 | Basionym |
| Delphinus orca ensidoratus Kerr, 1792 | Synonym |
| Delphinus serra Borowski, 1780 | Synonym |
| Delphinus victorini Grill, 1858 | Synonym |
| Grampus orca Iredale & Troughton, 1933 | Synonym |
| Grampus rectipinna Scheffer, 1942 | Synonym |
| Ophysia pacifica Gray, 1870 | Synonym |
| Orca africana Gray, 1871 | Synonym |
| Orca antarctica Fischer, 1876 | Synonym |
| Orca ater Cope, 1869 | Synonym |
| Orca ater fusca Dall, 1874 | Synonym |
| Orca atra Gray, 1871 | Synonym |
| Orca Capensis Gray 1846 | Synonym |
| Orca eschrichtii Reinhardt, 1866 | Synonym |
| Orca glacialis Berzin & Vladimirov, 1982 | Synonym |
| Orca gladiator Van Beneden & Gervais, 1869-1880 | Synonym |
| Orca gladiator arcticus Gervais, 1869-1871 | Synonym |
| Orca gladiator australis Gervais, 1869-1871 | Synonym |
| Orca gladiator europaeus Gervais, 1869-1871 | Synonym |
| Orca gladiator tasmaniensis Cabrera, 1961 | Synonym |
| Orca latirostris Gray, 1870 | Synonym |
| Orca megellanica Burmeister, 1866 | Synonym |
| Orca minor Malm, 1871 | Synonym |
| Orca orca Lahille, 1914 | Synonym |
| Orca orca megallanicus | Synonym |
| Orca pacifica Gray, 1870 | Synonym |
| Orca rectipinna Cope, 1869 | Synonym |
| Orca schlegelii Lilljeborg, 1866 | Synonym |
| Orca stenorhyncha Gray, 1870 | Synonym |
| Orca tasmanica Gray, 1871 | Synonym |
| Orcinus glacialis Berzin & Vladimirov, 1982 | Synonym |
| Orcinus nanus Mikhalev, Ivashin, Savusin & Zelenaya, 1981 | Synonym |
| Orcinus orca capensis Trouessart, 1904 | Synonym |
| Orcinus orca eschrichti Trouessart, 1904 | Synonym |
| Orcinus orca megallanicus Trouessart, 1904 | Synonym |
| Physeter microps Fabricius, 1780 | Synonym |
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)
| Name | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Preferred |
| Orca ater Cope in Scammon, 1869 | Junior synonym |
| Orca Capensis Gray 1846 | Junior synonym |
| Orcinus glacialis Berzin and Vladimirov, 1983 | Junior synonym |
| Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789 | Junior synonym |
| Orcinus nanus Mikhalev & Ivashin 1981 | Unavailable, nomen nudum |
| Orca rectipinna Cope in Scammon, 1869 | Junior synonym |
| Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 | Original name/combination |
Paleobiology Database
| Name | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Preferred |
| Phocaena orca (Linnaeus 1758) | Valid |
| Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 | Valid |
| Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Delphinus duhameli Lacepede 1804 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca gladiator Bonnaterre 1789 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca (Ophysia) capensis (Gray 1846) | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca (Gladiator) capensis (Gray 1846) | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca Capensis Gray 1846 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orcinus orca capensis (Gray 1846) | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orcinus orca magellanica (Burmeister 1866) | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca magellanica Burmeister 1866 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca (Gladiator) magellanica (Burmeister 1866) | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca (Gladiator) stenorhyncha Gray 1870 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca (Ophysia) pacifica Gray 1870 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca ater Scammon and Cope 1869 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orcinus glacialis Berzin and Vladimirov, 1983 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orcinus nanus Mikhalev & Ivashin 1981 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orcinus rectipinna (Scammon and Cope 1869) | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca rectipinna Scammon and Cope 1869 | Heterotypic synonym |
| Orca (Gladiator) latirostris Gray 1870 | Heterotypic synonym |
South African Vertebrates
| Name | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Preferred |
| Orca rectipinna Cope in Scammon, 1869 | Synonym |
| Orca ater Cope in Scammon, 1869 | Synonym |
| Globicephala scammnii (Cope, 1869) | Synonym |
| Orcinus glacialis Berzin and Vladimirov, 1983 | Synonym |
| Orca capensis (Gray) | Synonym |
| Delphinus melas Traill, 1809 | Synonym |
| Globicephala melaena (Traill) | Synonym |
| Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789 | Synonym |
| Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 | Synonym |
| Orcinus nanus Mikhalev & Ivashin 1981 | Synonym |
NCBI Taxonomy
| Name | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Orcinus orca | Preferred |
| Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Authority |
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: April 2013
| Name | Relationship |
|---|---|
| Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758) | Preferred |
| Orca ater Cope in Scammon, 1869 | Synonym |
| Orca Capensis Gray 1846 | Synonym |
| Orcinus glacialis Berzin and Vladimirov, 1983 | Synonym |
| Delphinus gladiator Bonnaterre, 1789 | Synonym |
| Orcinus nanus Mikhalev & Ivashin 1981 | Synonym |
| Orca rectipinna Cope in Scammon, 1869 | Synonym |
| Delphinus orca Linnaeus, 1758 | Synonym |
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