Scientists have declared the first sighting of a hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin in the ocean off Hawaii.
However, reports identifying the animal as a ‘wholphin’ are entirely false, they say.
The melon-headed whale might be called a whale, but the species is technically a type of dolphin.
Labelling the newly discovered hybrid a ‘wholphin’ may mean people wrongly assume it is a cross between two very different animals, scientists said.
Scientists have declared the first sighting of a hybrid (front of image) between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin in the ocean off Hawaii
‘Calling it something like a wholphin doesn’t make any sense,’ said Robin Baird, a Hawaii research biologist with Washington state-based Cascadia Research Collective, who authored the study.
‘I think calling it a wholphin just confuses the situation more than it already is.’
Some news organisations have described the melon-headed whale and rough-toothed dolphin hybrid as a new species, but other things would still need to occur for this to be the case, including more widespread hybridisation, Mr Baird said.
‘That isn’t the case, although there are examples where hybridisation has resulted in a new species,’ he said.
‘There’s no evidence to suggest it’s leading toward anything like species formation.’
Reports calling the hybrid animal a ‘wholphin’ are false, scientists say. The melon-headed whale (pictured) might be called a whale, but the species is technically a type of dolphin
WHAT IS THE ‘WHOLPHIN’ HYBRID FOUND NEAR HAWAII?
Scientists found a hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin in the ocean off the Hawaiian island of Kauai in 2017.
The cross appears to be the first instance of a wild-born hybrid between the two species.
Scientists say the animal likely came to be when a melon-headed whale was separated from its group and ending up traveling with rough-toothed dolphins.
Experts don’t know how old it is but believe it’s close to adult age.
News of the hybrid animal hit headlines across the globe when a paper describing the find was published in July 2018.
Manyoutlets described the creature as a ‘wholphin’.
But scientists behind the study say this is misleading, as the melon-headed whale is technically a type of dolphin.
In a study published last week, experts said the animal first spotted off the island of Kauai in August 2017 appears to be the first time there has been a hybrid between the two species.
It is also only the third confirmed instance of a wild-born hybrid between species in the Delphinidae family.
The hybrid was spotted spending most of its time alongside another melon-headed whale by scientists on a two-week tagging and monitoring effort.
The Navy-funded research had aimed to study the effects of sonar.
Scientists who found the specimen tracked numerous species during a study off the island of Kauai last year. Pictured is the area the researchers covered during their fieldwork
Both pigmentation and morphological characteristics suggested it may be a hybrid resulting from a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin mating, scientists explained in the new report.
However, it wasn’t until a biopsy that they were able to confirm their suspicions.
‘Genetic analyses of a biopsy sample obtained from the putative hybrid in comparison to a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin indicated that the individual has the genotype expected for an F1 hybrid at 11 of 14 nucleotide positions,’ the authors wrote.
‘This is the first known hybrid between these two species.’
News of the hybrid proves the ‘genetic diversity of the ocean,’ Sea Life Park curator Jeff Pawloski said.
Some news organisations have described the melon-headed whale and rough-toothed dolphin hybrid as a new species, but other things would still need to occur, including more widespread hybridisation. Pictured are two rough-toothed dolphins
‘I always thought they were out there in the wild existing – it only makes sense,’ he said.
‘And to know she has cousins out there in the ocean is an amazing thing to know.’
The male hybrid presents an opportunity to look for others.
Hybrids generally occur when there’s a decline in the population in one of the parental species, so scientists will be looking out for such a decline.
A likely scenario for how the hybrid came to be is a melon-headed whale getting separated from its group and ending up traveling with rough-toothed dolphins.
Scientists don’t know how old it is but believe it’s close to adult age.
This latest hybrid animal is not the first to be branded with the ‘wholfin’ name.
The deceptive label was widely-used for a false killer whale – the third largest species of dolphin – and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin born in 1985 at Hawaii’s Sea Life Park.
The hybrid, named Kekaimalu, still lives at the marine mammal park, where she helps teach children about genetics.
In a study published last week, experts said the animal spotted off the island of Kauai in August 2017 appears to be the first record of a hybrid involving either species
