{ "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-10-21T19:29:59Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "researched by Claude against the sources listed below", "pass": 2, "wave": 5, "engine": "claude", "gate": { "passed": true, "version": "1.0", "at": "2026-10-21T19:36:44+00:00", "evidence": [ "completeness 1.00", "sense: Wikidata description", "5 live sources", "review by codex: pass" ] } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q26843", "registryId": "vr.tr.orcinus-orca", "name": "Orcinus orca", "version": "0.2.0-wave.5", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.LIV" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q26843/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.orcinus-orca", "name": "Orcinus orca", "purpose": "Let an agent describe orcas, their ecotypes, behaviour, populations and protection, and point to wildlife-watching rules and authorities.", "definition": "The orca or killer whale (Orcinus orca), the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family, a black-and-white toothed whale found in all oceans that lives in stable family groups and is an apex predator.", "what_it_is_for": null, "affordances": [ "identify an orca and its ecotype in general terms", "describe behaviour and diet", "state protection status from authoritative sources", "point to responsible whale-watching rules" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "The largest member of the oceanic dolphin family, and a toothed whale.", "Ecotypes specialise in fish or marine mammals and rarely interbreed; some have been proposed as separate species or subspecies.", "Individuals are identified by dorsal fin and saddle patch markings.", "Social structure and vocal traditions vary between populations." ], "appearance": "A large dolphin with black upper body, white underside, white eye patch and grey saddle patch; males have a tall upright dorsal fin.", "visual_identification": [ "White eye patch and grey saddle patch", "Tall dorsal fin up to about 1.8 m in adult males", "Travels in groups" ], "physical_properties": [ { "quantity": "adult length", "typical_range": "5-9", "unit": "m", "note": "males larger; exceptional males up to about 10 m" }, { "quantity": "adult mass", "typical_range": "2-6", "unit": "t", "note": "large males can exceed this" } ], "families_and_kinds": [ "North Pacific resident (fish-eating) ecotype", "Bigg's or transient (mammal-eating) ecotype", "offshore ecotype", "Southern Ocean types A, B1, B2, C and D (D subantarctic)", "provisional subspecies O. orca ater and O. orca rectipinnus (2026 list)" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "oceanic dolphin", "why": "family Delphinidae" }, { "relation": "eats", "target": "fish and marine mammals", "why": "depending on ecotype" }, { "relation": "is confused with", "target": "false killer whale", "why": "a different species" }, { "relation": "is regulated by", "target": "CITES", "why": "Appendix II" } ], "identifiers": [ { "scheme": "scientific name", "value_or_pattern": "Orcinus orca (Linnaeus, 1758)", "note": "" }, { "scheme": "photo-identification catalogue ID", "value_or_pattern": "catalogue-specific", "note": "for individual orcas" } ], "standards_and_regulation": [ "CITES Appendix II", "National protection, such as the US Endangered Species Act listing of the Southern Resident population", "Whale-watching distance rules in many countries", "IUCN Red List status (a conservation assessment, not law): Data Deficient globally, 2017" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Prey depletion", "Pollution with persistent chemicals", "Vessel noise and disturbance", "Welfare concerns in captivity" ], "agent_conduct": { "may": [ "describe biology and status from sources", "explain watching rules" ], "must_not": [ "advise approaching orcas closer than legal limits", "give locations to harass animals", "present one population's status as the species status" ], "requires_human": [ "reports of stranded or entangled animals, which go to rescue networks" ] }, "ethics": { "considerations": [ "animal welfare in captivity", "conservation of small populations" ], "affected_parties": [ "orca populations", "coastal communities" ] }, "owners": { "steward": "nobody; a wild species protected by states and conventions", "master_systems": [ "IUCN Red List", "regional photo-identification catalogues" ] }, "facets_not_applicable": {}, "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [] }, "sources": [ { "id": "SRC-001", "title": "Q26843", "publisher": "Wikidata", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q26843", "what_it_supports": "identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "SRC-002", "title": "Orca", "publisher": "Wikipedia", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orca", "what_it_supports": "general description of the subject", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "SRC-003", "title": "Killer Whale", "publisher": "NOAA Fisheries", "url": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/killer-whale", "what_it_supports": "biology and protection", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "SRC-004", "title": "List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies", "publisher": "Society for Marine Mammalogy, Committee on Taxonomy", "url": "https://marinemammalscience.org/science-and-publications/list-marine-mammal-species-subspecies/", "what_it_supports": "current taxonomy", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "SRC-005", "title": "Killer whale ecotypes", "publisher": "International Whaling Commission", "url": "https://iwc.int/management-and-conservation/international-research-programmes/sorp/killer-whale-ecotypes", "what_it_supports": "Antarctic ecotypes", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "SRC-006", "title": "Orcinus orca (Killer Whale)", "publisher": "IUCN Red List", "url": "https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T15421A50368125.en", "what_it_supports": "global status", "url_status": "live" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identification", "name": "Identification", "description": "Recognising orcas.", "rationale": "Identification supports research and watching.", "layers": [ { "id": "species", "name": "Species", "description": "Field marks.", "findings": [ { "id": "field-marks", "name": "Field marks", "description": "Patches and fin shape.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which features confirm an orca?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Could it be another species?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "individuals-and-ecotypes", "name": "Individuals and ecotypes", "description": "Photo-ID and ecotype.", "findings": [ { "id": "individual-id", "name": "Individual ID", "description": "Catalogue and ecotype.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which individual or pod is this?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which ecotype does it belong to?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "biology", "name": "Biology", "description": "How orcas live.", "rationale": "Behaviour explains conservation needs.", "layers": [ { "id": "social-life", "name": "Social life", "description": "Pods and matrilines.", "findings": [ { "id": "social-structure", "name": "Social structure", "description": "Group composition.", "questions": [ { "text": "How is the group structured?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "How stable is it?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "diet", "name": "Diet", "description": "Prey by ecotype.", "findings": [ { "id": "diet", "name": "Diet", "description": "Main prey.", "questions": [ { "text": "What does this population eat?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "How has prey availability changed?", "kind": "measurement" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "populations", "name": "Populations", "description": "Numbers and trends.", "rationale": "Status differs by population.", "layers": [ { "id": "population-size", "name": "Population size", "description": "Counts and trends.", "findings": [ { "id": "population-estimate", "name": "Population estimate", "description": "Count, year, method.", "questions": [ { "text": "How many animals are in this population, by which survey?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "text": "Is it growing or declining?", "kind": "measurement" } ] } ] }, { "id": "threats", "name": "Threats", "description": "Main pressures.", "findings": [ { "id": "threat", "name": "Threat", "description": "Prey, pollution, noise.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which threats affect this population?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Which evidence supports that?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "protection-and-people", "name": "Protection and people", "description": "Law and encounters.", "rationale": "People must keep distance.", "layers": [ { "id": "legal-protection", "name": "Legal protection", "description": "Listings and laws.", "findings": [ { "id": "protection-status", "name": "Protection status", "description": "Listings by jurisdiction.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which protection applies here?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which authority enforces it?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "encounters", "name": "Encounters", "description": "Watching and captivity.", "findings": [ { "id": "encounter-rules", "name": "Encounter rules", "description": "Distance and conduct rules.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which distance rules apply to boats here?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "text": "Where are captive orcas kept, under which rules?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Taxonomy is under revision; how should proposed species and subspecies be modelled?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }