Scientists identify a new dolphin species off Australia
Source: Los Angeles Times
Scientists identify a new dolphin species off Australia
By Deborah Netburn
October 29, 2013, 6:04 p.m.
A team of scientists says it has found a new species of dolphin swimming off the northern coast of Australia.
The dolphin, a member of the humpback family, isn't exactly new to science - researchers have known about the population for years - but it is newly described by science. In fact, it is so new it doesn't have a name.
Humpback dolphins are wide-ranging but have not been well studied. They have a tell-tale bump in front of their dorsal fin and prefer coastal waters like estuaries and deltas. They can grow to 8 feet, and their color ranges from dark gray to pink or even white. Scientists believe they eat mullet and other fish.
For more than a decade, a debate has raged about how many species of humpback dolphins exist. Some scientists said two - the Atlantic humpback and the Indo-Pacific humpback. Others thought the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin was actually two separate species.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-humpback-dolphin-discovery-20131029,0,3542387.story
