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2018/07/31(火) 03:27:45.96ID:CAP_USER9It's a WHOLPHIN! 'Most unusual' Half-whale, half-dolphin hybrid discovered near Hawaii
SCIENTISTS have found a whale and dolphin hybrid species, known as a "wholphin", after researchers spotted the bizarre beast swimming in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
By LATIFA YEDROUDJ
18:10, Mon, Jul 30, 2018 | UPDATED: 18:46, Mon, Jul 30, 2018
The strange aquatic mammal was seen swimming with other dolphins near Kauai, an island in the Pacific Ocean, but marine biologists were quick to realise the animal looked different from its herd.
After studying the animal closely, scientists realised the sea creature was in fact a hybrid between two aquatic species - a male rough-toothed dolphin and a female melon-headed whale.
The so-called wolphin has dolphin-like fins like its father, but had a tubular grey body and curved head similar to its melon-headed whale mother.
Both species are rarely seen in the area, making the it a "most unusual finding", according to Robin Baird, expedition leader and marine biologist Robin Baird from the Cascadia Research Collective.
Mr Baird said: "We had the photos and suspected it was a hybrid from morphological characteristics intermediate between species.
"We were able to get a biopsy sample of the animal."
The animal's scientific name is Steno bredanensis, but the species has been nicknamed wolphin.
However, this is not the first time scientists have seen a bizarre whale-dolphin hybrid.
In 1985, researchers spotted a wholphin at Hawaii's Sea Life Park.
The wholphin was bred by a female bottlenose dolphin and male false killer whale, embodying a different genetic composition than the newly discovered wholphin species.
The wholphin, named Kekaimalu, mated with a male bottlenose dolphin and gave birth to a calf in December 2004.
Both whales are still alive today and continue to roam the waters at Sea Life Park in Hawaii.
Whales and dolphins are closely-related, allowing them to inter-breed and produce offspring that are able to survive for years - though the hybrid is rare.
Whales and dolphins are not the only species known to cross-breed.
Other cross-species creatures include ligers - a cross between a tiger and lion - and zorses - a horse-zebra hybrid.
Lions and leopards are also known to interbreed, breeding "Leopons", while grizzly bears and polar bears create a rare species of bear called a "Pizzly".
Camels and lamas have also cross-bred on some occasions, creating a new species called "Cama".
A "wholphin" was spotted swimming in the Pacific Ocean, near the island of Kauai of Hawaii (Image: KIMBERLY A. WOOD/CASCADIA)
https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/wholphin-dolphin-whale-996378.jpg?r=1532972773099
