New Dolphin Species Found in Australian Waters

An international team of researchers has announced the discovery of a new species of humpback dolphin in the waters off northern Australia.

A newly identified species of humpback dolphin, Sousa sp. nov., strongly resembles Sousa chinensis, shown here. Image credit: Takoradee / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Humpback dolphins – named for a peculiar hump just below the dorsal fin – belong to the dolphin genus Sousa. These animals measure from 5 to 8 feet in length and range from dark gray to pink or white in color. They are found throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans to the coasts of Australia.

Team leader Dr Martin Mendez from American Museum of Natural History in New York and Wildlife Conservation Society with colleagues used both physical features and genetic data to determine the number of species in the genus Sousa.

While the Atlantic humpback dolphin is a recognized species, the scientists provide the best evidence to date to split the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin into three species.

“Based on the findings of our combined morphological and genetic analyses, we can suggest that the humpback dolphin genus includes at least four member species,” Dr Mendez said.

According to the new results, published in the journal Molecular Ecology, there are at least four species of humpback dolphins, one of which is new to science.

The Atlantic humpback dolphin, Sousa teuszii, occurs in the eastern Atlantic off West Africa.

The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa plumbea, lives in the central to the western Indian Ocean.

Another species of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis, inhabits the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

The fourth species, Sousa sp. nov., which has yet to be named, occurs off northern Australia.

“New information about distinct species across the entire range of humpback dolphins will increase the number of recognized species, and provides the needed scientific evidence for management decisions aimed at protecting their unique genetic diversity and associated important habitats,” concluded senior author Dr Howard Rosenbaum, also from American Museum of Natural History in New York and Wildlife Conservation Society.

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Bibliographic information: Martin Mendez et al. Integrating multiple lines of evidence to better understand the evolutionary divergence of humpback dolphins along their entire distribution range: a new dolphin species in Australian waters? Molecular Ecology, published online October 29, 2013; doi: 10.1111/mec.12535

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New Dolphin Species Found in Australian Waters