SAY hello to the Australian snubfin, the world’s newest dolphin. Orcaella heinsohni has been recognised as a different species to the Asian Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), named after a river in Burma.
So say Isabel Beasley at James Cook University and Peter Arnold of the Museum of Tropical Queensland, both in Townsville. Anatomical studies by the pair strongly suggested that the Australian dolphin is a separate species. The clincher came from genetic studies by Kelly Robertson of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California. “There are clear differences between the two populations that had not previously been recognised,”…
