Quote:

 

This is the source for the 9.8m male killer whale.

Jonsgård and Lyshoel 1969. A contribution to the knowledge of the biology of the killer whale (Orcinus orca).

Some comments they made about their measurements.

Quote:

 

With regard to the body length of the animals~ which is given in English feet~ there is no doubt that in several cases it is not quite correct as the length has rather often been estimated instead of being exactly measured. However the estimate is made just after the animal has been taken onboard lying across the deck. The width of the deck, which is known, forms the basis for the estimation. During our field work in 1967 and 1968 we measured the body length of several whales, the length of which had been estimated by the whalers beforehand. We found that the deviation was up to ±2 feet but in most cases the estimated length was correct or almost correct.

[...]

The largest males and females are 32' and 28' respectively. However, as previously pointed out (see section on material), it is possible that their length may have been estimated too high. Only 4 males and 2 females have been reported to be more than 30' and 26' respectively, which points to the fact, that even if their lengths are correct, male and female killer whales very seldom exceed 30' and 26' respectively.

So we should take 9.8m orcas with a grain of salt, also important to mention that "Perrin and Reilly (1984) Reproductive Parameters of Dolphins and Small Whales of the Family Deiphinidae" from where I got the lead to find the previous publication, report that in all the other oceans, maximum reported length for males is between 8 and 9m.

blaze

Mar 13 2016, 01:22 AM

@Mantrid

The Kronosaurus vs Killer whale image is not at maximum sizes, the largest relatively complete specimen, the Harvard one, is estimated at 10.7m long while the killer whale, I suppose it's meant to be 9.8m? I made this comment elsewhere about the reliability of that claim.

Quote:

 

This is the source for the 9.8m male killer whale.

Jonsgård and Lyshoel 1969. A contribution to the knowledge of the biology of the killer whale (Orcinus orca).

Some comments they made about their measurements.

Quote:

 

With regard to the body length of the animals~ which is given in English feet~ there is no doubt that in several cases it is not quite correct as the length has rather often been estimated instead of being exactly measured. However the estimate is made just after the animal has been taken onboard lying across the deck. The width of the deck, which is known, forms the basis for the estimation. During our field work in 1967 and 1968 we measured the body length of several whales, the length of which had been estimated by the whalers beforehand. We found that the deviation was up to ±2 feet but in most cases the estimated length was correct or almost correct.

[...]

The largest males and females are 32' and 28' respectively. However, as previously pointed out (see section on material), it is possible that their length may have been estimated too high. Only 4 males and 2 females have been reported to be more than 30' and 26' respectively, which points to the fact, that even if their lengths are correct, male and female killer whales very seldom exceed 30' and 26' respectively.

So we should take 9.8m orcas with a grain of salt, also important to mention that "Perrin and Reilly (1984) Reproductive Parameters of Dolphins and Small Whales of the Family Deiphinidae" from where I got the lead to find the previous publication, report that in all the other oceans, maximum reported length for males is between 8 and 9m.

It is interesting that the largest specimens in this sample exceed known records by the same amount that they found the whalers estimates to be off.