orc-, orca- (Greek > Latin: a kind of whale; large sea creature).
orca:
1. A killer whale.
2. When capitalized, the genus consisting of the killer whale.
whales hunt in packs, and although the bulk of their diet consists of fish and cephalopods such as squid, they also eat seals, sea lions, penguins, dolphins, and porpoises, and have been observed attacking the larger whales, including the blue whale. In both captivity and their natural habitat, they have had ample opportunity to attack humans, yet there is no record of a human death from a killer whale attack. They have a remarkably wide distribution, inhabiting all waters of the world, from polar seas to tropical waters, although they seem most numerous in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans."
The World's Whales, by Stanley M. Minasian, Kenneth C. Balcomb, and Larry Foster
(New York: Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C.; Distributed by W.W. Norton and Company, 1984), p. 178.
Orca destructor:
A killer whale.
Orcinus orca:
A killer whale (formerly Orca gladiator).
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