Photos courtesy of AFP
Scientists expressed surprise and delight recently after a new humpback dolphin species was identified on the coast of northern Australia.
Read the following story to learn more about this exciting discovery.
A global team led by the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society made the discovery after examining almost 200 dead dolphins and tissue specimens from live animals across the Atlantic, Indian and Indo-Pacific oceans.
Humpback dolphins have a vast home range stretching from the tip of Australia all the way to Africa. They are considered native to some 40 countries across Asia, Africa and the Pacific.
EXCITING STUDY
A study of the beak length and number of teeth in 180 skulls from beached dolphins and museum specimens, as well as live DNA samples from 235 dolphins, identified a new species in the humpback, which frequents waters off northern Australia.
“Based on our combined genetic and morphological analyses, there is convincing evidence for at least four species within the genus,” lead author Martin Mendez wrote in a paper that was published in the latest edition of science journal Molecular Ecology. Martin added that this included a new species dolphin found off northern Australia.
NEW METHODS
Biologist Guido Parra, a member of the study team from Australia’s Flinders University, said it had long been thought that local humpbacks were distinct from their more distant cousins, but that there had been insufficient evidence to support the hypothesis.
“In previous debates the data sets were always limited to either purely genetic or based on traditional taxonomic studies,” Guido said. “This time, we were able to actually combine morphological and genetic approaches, as well as look at the entire genus range.”
Guido added that the team was surprised and delighted to discover a completely new species of humpback dolphin.
Exercises
Read the story. Then, decide whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Guido Parra is a biologist.
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2. Humpback dolphins are only found in Africa.
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3. The Wildlife Conservation Society is an Australian-based organisation.
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4. A new humpback dolphin species was identified off the coast of southern Australia.
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Vocabulary
- specimen (n): a single example of something, especially an animal or a plant
genetic (adj): connected with the units in cells of a living thing that control its physical characteristics
morphological (adj): relating to a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features
ecology (n): the study of the relation of plants and living creatures to each other and to their environment
hypothesis (n): an idea or explanation of something that is based on a few known facts but that has not yet been proved to be true or correct
taxonomic (adj): connected with the scientific process of classifying things
