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One of the killer whale’s most distinguishing features is its saddle patch: an area of gray or white coloration behind its dorsal fin. Each killer whale has a distinct saddle patch, just as humans have distinct fingerprints. Scientists and other observers can use these patches both to identify individuals and to differentiate one ecologically divided population from another.

Researchers from Finland, New Zealand, and Canada recently set out to better understand how saddle patches differ in shape and size within and between killer whale groups. They collated photographs of nearly 4,000 individual whales from 48 groups of killer whales from around the world and analyzed the shapes and sizes of saddle patches, looking for patterns.