Remember being a kid and wondering what it would be like if a dolphin and a whale got together and created a dolphin-whale combo sea creature with special powers? OK, wait maybe that was just me, but it's actually happened (well, minus the special powers part — that we know of, at least).
The Independent reports that scientists have discovered a rare whale-dolphin hybrid near the Hawaii coast. A document published this month by the Cascadia Research Collective details their findings, noting that the creature was found last year near the island of Kauai, where it was was swimming alongside a whale that might have been its mother.
According to CBS News, researchers learned that the animal was a hybrid between a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin. Here's where things get a little confusing though, because melon-headed whales are technically part of the oceanic dolphin family, AKA Delphinidae. Other animals belonging to that category are killer whales and pilot whales.
Robin Baird, head of the research project, told The Garden Island, a local Kauai newspaper, that it was the team's "most unusual finding." The Garden Island also reports that the Cascadia Research Collective has dubbed the hybrid "Steno bredanensis," and that it's the first-ever of its kind.
In conversation with CBS News, Baird said that the team will return to the island next month, where they aim to do further testing of the surrounding areas. "We're hoping that just by talking to some tour operators and fishermen ... we might get tips and encounter something like pilot whales," he added.
However, it's important to note that, according to Baird, the creature does not represent the discovery of a new species. The biologist confirmed to HuffPost that the whale-dolphin hybrid "isn’t and shouldn’t be considered a new species." Nevertheless, the findings are still exciting, and scientists are hopeful that there's more discoveries to come. As Baird told HuffPost: "I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more hybrids between the two species ― they do associate quite regularly."
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