Unique
dolphin
hybrid
discovered
in the bay
Written by Sarah Birch
Photographs: Rocío Espada
Marine hybrids are no longer an anomaly in the wild,
with the last few years seeing several marine mam-
mal hybridisations discovered outside of captivity.
Mingling amongst marine mammals is likely
more common than we know, but they are much
harder to detect and observe compared with other
groups of animals and plants.
One of these discoveries was made right here in
the bay of Gibraltar! With a unique case of inter-
generic hybridisation between a female bottlenose
dolphin and a short-beaked common dolphin found.
There have been other reported cases of bottle-
nose crossbreeds around the world, but this is the
first example of hybridisation between these two
genera discovered in the wild.
Rocio Espada; a marine biologist based locally,
conducted her research aboard the Dolphin Adven-
ture catamarans. Together with other researchers
and in collaboration with the University of Sevilla,
she published her findings earlier this year in the
world-renowned scientific journal, Plos One.
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