Whales and dolphins mating in Hawaii.....?

[Rob Tucker]

New hybrid whale-dolphin discovered in Hawaii

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-hybrid-...in-hawaii/

Last year, a team of scientists spotted what they believed was a hybrid animal off the coast of Kauai, Hawaii. A new report from Cascadia Research Collective confirms they did -- and the new sea creature is the result of a whale and a dolphin mating, the team's head researcher told CBS News.

What the researchers discovered was a hybrid of a melon-headed whale and a rough-toothed dolphin. In an interview with local newspaper The Garden Island, the head of the project said the discovery is their "most unusual finding." "We had the photos and suspected it was a hybrid from morphological characteristics intermediate between species," Robin Baird said.

During their two-week project, scientists were able to get a biopsy sample from the creature and study its genetics. They were able to confirm that the animal was a hybrid. "Based on the genetics, the father was a rough-toothed dolphin and the mother a melon-headed whale," Baird told CBS News via email.

[SBH]

They have an Orca / Dolphin at Sea Life Park on Oahu.

[Chunkster]

I was told by a UH marine biologist that male dolphins are quite randy and will mate or attempt to mate with a number of species. The bottle nose variety also has a well documented propensity for bisexuality. Fun group of guys!

[PaulW]

What we need now is a dolphin/human hybrid in Kona.

[eigoya]

We got close in the 70's
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Mx_c3duF0

[waawaawah]

PaulW " What we need is a dolphin/human hybrid in Kona"

You mean a mermaid/ merman?

[terracore]

I wonder if....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52-hertz_whale

[Midnight Rambler]

The melon-headed "whale" is actually a kind of dolphin, so it's really a hybrid between two species of dolphin. Apparently they will school with each other so it's not that surprising except that they don't seem all that closely related.

[ericlp]

The melon-headed whale or melon-headed dolphin (species Peponocephala electra; other names are many-toothed blackfish, "melon whale" and electra dolphin) is a cetacean of the oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae). It is closely related to the pygmy killer whale and pilot whale, and collectively these dolphin species are known by the common name blackfish. It is also related to the false killer whale. The melon-headed whale is widespread throughout the world's tropical waters, although not often seen by humans because it prefers deep water.