Now for something completely different: The "Wholphin"

[Bozo Erectus]

Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Has Baby Wholphin

1 hour, 54 minutes ago

By JEANNETTE J. LEE, Associated Press Writer

HONOLULU - The only whale-dolphin mix in captivity has given birth to a playful female calf, officials at Sea Life Park Hawaii said Thursday.

The calf was born on Dec. 23 to Kekaimalu, a mix of a false killer whale and an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Park officials said they waited to announce the birth until now because of recent changes in ownership and operations at the park.

The young as-yet unnamed wholphin is one-fourth false killer whale and three-fourths Atlantic bottlenose dolphin. Her slick skin is an even blend of a dolphin's light gray and the black coloring of a false killer whale.

The calf still depends fully on her mother's milk, but sometimes snatches frozen capelin from the hands of trainers, then toys with the sardine-like fish.

She is jumbo-sized compared to purebred dolphins, and is already the size of a one-year-old bottlenose.

"Mother and calf are doing very well," said Dr. Renato Lenzi, general manager of Sea Life Park by Dolphin Discovery. "We are monitoring them very closely to ensure the best care for them."

Although false killer whales and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins are different species, they are classified within the same family by scientists.

"They are not that far apart in terms of taxonomy," said Louis Herman, a leading expert in the study of marine mammals.

There have been reports of wholphins in the wild, he said.

Kekaimalu, whose name means "from the peaceful ocean," was born 19 years ago after a surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin. The animals were the leads in the park's popular tourist water show, featured in the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates."

Kekaimalu has given birth to two other calves. One lived for nine years and the other, born when Kekaimalu was very young, died a few days after birth.

Park researchers suspect the wholphin's father is a 15-foot long Atlantic bottlenose dolphin named Mikioi.

"He seems to be totally oblivious to this happening," Lenzi said.

False killer whales do not closely resemble killer whales. They grow to 20 feet, weigh up to two tons and have a tapering, rounded snout that overhangs their toothed jaw.

Atlantic bottlenose dolphins reach a maximum size of 12 feet and can weigh up to 700 pounds.

Sea Life Park officials said they hope to decide on a name for the baby wholphin soon and move her to a large display tank in a few months.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...16&e=9&u=/ap/20050415/ap_on_sc/wholphin_birth

What does it mean that false killer whales and dolphins "are different species, they are classified within the same family"? Arent humans and chimps seperate species, but within the same family? So why cant we mate? (yes Ive had my eye on a certain female chimp at the Bronx Zoo )

 

[FriendlyFire]

but within the same family? So why cant we mate?

My eyes, Dear GOD, MY EYES,
/gorges eyes out

 

[Illustrious]

What does it mean that false killer whales and dolphins "are different species, they are classified within the same family"?

Think mule.

Horses and donkeys are separate species within the same family. They can interbreed, but produce infertile offspring.

While I have never heard of the false killer whale, I imagine its relationship to the dolphin is along the same lines. So I would bet that Kekaimalu is sterile.

 

[Scuffer]

Kekaimalu gave birth to the Wholphin, so she can't be sterile. Will be interesting to see if the calf is. I would guess not though.

 

[jonatas]

Kekaimalu gave birth to the Wholphin, so she can't be sterile. Will be interesting to see if the calf is. I would guess not though.

i was under the impression that in some hybrids the males are infertile, but females aren't

 

[Rik Meleet]

I know felines are known to interbreed (Lyons + Tigers etc.) but whales ?

Anyone got some pictures ?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Kekaimalu, whose name means "from the peaceful ocean," was born 19 years ago after a surprise coupling between a 14-foot, 2,000-pound false killer whale and a 6-foot, 400-pound dolphin. The animals were the leads in the park's popular tourist water show, featured in the Adam Sandler movie "50 First Dates."

Kekaimalu has given birth to two other calves. One lived for nine years and the other, born when Kekaimalu was very young, died a few days after birth.

Illusirious & Jonatas, she's not sterile. The point of the article is that she had a baby.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I know felines are known to interbreed (Lyons + Tigers etc.) but whales ?

Anyone got some pictures ?

Heres one I found at this site:

http://www.hotspots.hawaii.com/Wolphin.html

 

[jonatas]

@BE... yeah i noticed she had one .... what i mean is, if she had been a "he", "he" might have been infertile, because as far as i can recall, in certain animal hybrids, the male hybrids are infertile while the females aren't..... that's all i was saying

but it's a cool story, definitely interesting

edit: cool pic

 

[IglooDame]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...16&e=9&u=/ap/20050415/ap_on_sc/wholphin_birth

What does it mean that false killer whales and dolphins "are different species, they are classified within the same family"? Arent humans and chimps seperate species, but within the same family? So why cant we mate? (yes Ive had my eye on a certain female chimp at the Bronx Zoo )

Well, I've often assumed that a few of my coworkers are the result of a similar mating, so I don't find your question too shocking.

 

[Yom]

This isn't a case of hybrid infertility since the mother could have a baby, but perhaps hybrid breakdown (when F2 is inviable). Maybe a new species could be in the making, though. The wolphin seems to be pretty healthy.

 

[jonatas]

This isn't a case of hybrid infertility since the mother could have a baby, but perhaps hybrid breakdown (when F2 is inviable). Maybe a new species could be in the making, though. The wolphin seems to be pretty healthy.

well if the mother can have a baby, i would expect her female offspring probably could too... what i would possibly expect to be infertile would be the males, perhaps for the first several generations or even more

 

[Bozo Erectus]

@BE... yeah i noticed she had one .... what i mean is, if she had been a "he", "he" might have been infertile, because as far as i can recall, in certain animal hybrids, the male hybrids are infertile while the females aren't..... that's all i was saying

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2290491.stm

Its an old story about a mule that gave birth to a male foal. I looked it up to see if they knew if the offspring was fertile, but it didnt mention it unfortunately.

 

[Yom]

well if the mother can have a baby, i would expect her female offspring probably could too... what i would possibly expect to be infertile would be the males, perhaps for the first several generations or even more

It's possible, but not necessarily true. One of the types of distinguishing species is if they cannot interbreed. However, interbreeding and producing sterile offspring, or producing offspring that can breed but produce inviable offpsring is a distinguishing factor as well. The mother was 1/2 killer wale and 1/2 dolphin, while the offspring is 1/4 killer whale, right?

Edit: I see the mother has given birth to an offspring that has died before. If that's the case, the new calf is most likely inviable or infertile.

 

[jonatas]

It's possible, but not necessarily true. One of the types of distinguishing species is if they cannot interbreed. However, interbreeding and producing sterile offspring, or producing offspring that can breed but produce inviable offpsring is a distinguishing factor as well. The mother was 1/2 killer wale and 1/2 dolphin, while the offspring is 1/4 killer whale, right?

Edit: I see the mother has given birth to an offspring that has died before. If that's the case, the new calf is most likely inviable or infertile.

you're right, it's not necessarily true, but it's possible... i am under the vague impression that female offspring of some hybrid combinations can be fertile,

....perhaps even males could be in rare cases too.... i'm not really sure

 

[Perfection]

What does it mean that false killer whales and dolphins "are different species, they are classified within the same family"? Arent humans and chimps seperate species, but within the same family? So why cant we mate? (yes Ive had my eye on a certain female chimp at the Bronx Zoo )

well, to answer your question, the species seperation doesn't mean that two seperate species cannot interbreed only that there are sginficant barriers to interbreeding. Given the rarity of these events and the general presence of two genetically distinct groups, it's appropriate to call them seperate species.

So even if hybrids occasionally are fertile and capable of bringing genes across the species barrier, we can still call them different species because of the rarity of the events still allows for two distinct genetic groups.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Perf, so how would that apply to chimps and humans? Are we also different species wthin the same family that could concievably (pun intended) produce offspring?

 

[CrazyScientist]

I'm pretty sure it has never been empirically tested. Think of the ethical complications!

 

[Perfection]

Perf, so how would that apply to chimps and humans? Are we also different species wthin the same family that could concievably (pun intended) produce offspring?

No, the division of the family level is quite nebulous and the likelyhood of interbreeding is not part of the definition, so we cannot tell much about the likelyhood of interbreeding based on the fact they are in the same family. Linnaean taxonomy is a very subjective system, and the amount of differences between members of one taxon and the amount of differences between members of another taxon of the same level are by no means garanteed to be equal.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I'm pretty sure it has never been empirically tested. Think of the ethical complications!

When I was a kid, I read something somewhere about a secret Soviet project to experiment with human/chimp interbreeding (via test tube of course), that presumably proved it could happen. I never doubted it, and wondered about the ethical implications, till Carlos explained to me why there are too many differences betwen the two for the cells to continue dividing. I guess the science fiction center in my brain still secretly hopes its possible

No, the division of the family level is quite nebulous and the likelyhood of interbreeding is not part of the definition, so we cannot tell much about the likelyhood of interbreeding based on the fact they are in the same family. Linnaean taxonomy is a very subjective system, and the amount of differences between members of one taxon and the amount of differences between members of another taxon of the same level are by no means garanteed to be equal.

Ah ok, I think I grok it.