New Species of Dolphin in Oz
7 Dec 2013
Hiding in plain sight, researchers have discovered a new species of humpback dolphin living off the northern coast of Australia.
The discovery came when scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) tried to settle a decades-old argument among marine mammal researchers.
"For many years, there's been this debate about the number of species of humpback dolphins," said Howard Rosenbaum, director of the WCS ocean giants program.
Scientists have proposed everything from two to four species within the group’s genus Sousa.