Orcinus

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Orcinus (/ɔːrˈsaɪnəs/) is a genus of Delphinidae (dolphins), in the infraorder Cetacea. It includes the largest delphinoid species, Orcinus orca, known as the orca or killer whale. Two extinct species are recognized, Orcinus paleorca and O. citoniensis, known from fossils. The other extinct species O. meyeri is disputed. The genus Orcinus was published by Leopold Fitzinger in 1860, its type species is the orca named by Linnaeus in 1758 as Delphinus orca. Taxonomic arrangements of delphinids published by workers before and after Fitzinger, such as John Edward Gray as Orca in 1846 and Orca (Gladiator) in 1870, are recognized as synonyms of Orcinus. The descriptions of species as Orcinus glacialis Berzin and Vladimirov, 1983 and Orcinus nanus Mikhalev and Ivashin, 1981 are considered synonyms of Orcinus orca, the existing species of orca. International Code of Zoological Nomenclature mentions that the name "orca" originates from Latin word orca, which means a large-bellied pot, and Orcinus is a derived word formed by adding a masculine suffix to it. This comes from Latin orca used by Ancient Romans for these animals, possibly borrowing Ancient Greek ὄρυξ (óryx) which referred (among other things) to a whale species, perhaps a narwhal. As part of the family Delphinidae, the species is more closely related to other oceanic dolphins than to other whales.