New Species of Dolphin Discovered in Australia
This dolphin is a new species of bottlenose dolphin, which was discovered off the coast of Australia. Photo: Kerstin Bilgmann.
Scientists have discovered a new species of bottlenose dolphin swimming in the southern waters of Australia.
Researchers from the Macquarie and Monash university made the discovery while collecting genetic samples from what they thought were coastal bottlenose dolphins. After DNA testing 200 dolphins, they realized that these weren’t coastal bottlenose dolphins after all.
“They look alike but they are genetically quite different,” said Luciana Moller, of Macquarie University. ”We were surprised.”
The discovery, which was reported in Molecular Phylogenetics And Evolution, is quite significant. It’s not often that a new species of large mammal is discovered.
“Large mammals are not discovered very often. It shows we still have a lot to learn about how many marine species are out there.” said Dr Moller.
Special Protection
Dr Moller believes the new dolphin species will need protection because of its limited range.
“Due to their coastal habitat, these dolphins are also more likely to face threats such as pollution, overfishing and entanglement in nets” she said.
Previously Known Bottlenose Dolphin Species
Until now, only two species of bottlenose dolphins were known. These are:
- Common Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), also known as the Bottle-nosed Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, Bottlenosed Dolphin. Lives in most tropical to temperate oceans. Its colour is grey, with the shade of grey varying among populations; can be bluish-grey, brownish-grey, or even nearly black; often darker on the back from the rostrum to behind the dorsal fin.
- Indo-pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), also known as the Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphin. Lives in the waters around India, northern Australia, South China, the Red Sea, and the eastern coast of Africa; back is dark-grey and belly is lighter grey or nearly white with grey spots.
The following dolphins are sometimes recognized as a subspecies of the T. truncatus:
- Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin (T. gillii or T. truncatus gillii), living in the Pacific; has a black line from the eye to the forehead
- Black Sea Bottlenose Dolphin (T. truncatus ponticus), living in the Black Sea.
The Researchers
The Macquarie University researchers are from the Marine Mammal Research Group, Graduate School of the Environment, and the Molecular Ecology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences.
The Monash University researchers are from the Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research (CESAR) and Australian Centre for Biodiversity: Analysis, Policy and Management, School of Biological Sciences.
Tags: australia, Conservation, marine life, new species, protected species
