The first documented two-headed dolphin was accidentally caught last month by a Dutch fisherman within the North Sea. The fisherman had unexpectedly caught the porpoise as bycatch in a beamtrawl net. They decided to release the animal back into the ocean because they feared it would be against the law to keep it, despite it already being deceased. However, they took plenty of photos of their bizarre discovery and alerted researchers in the process. Unfortunately, researchers were only able to gain details from the fisherman's photos but successfully determined that the porpoise was both a newborn and a male. They also believe that the dolphin would not have lasted long in the wild because the tail had not stiffened. This is a necessary development that these animal's need in order to swim. They also determined that the dolphin had died shortly after birth because the dorsal fins were not yet erect and the top of the heads still contained hairs. Additionally, the porpoise still contained an umbilical opening. The article reflects on studies of conjoined twins that have been evaluated in a variety of different species, such as humans, reptiles, and domesticated animals. Researchers point out that conjoined twins are rarely seen in wild animals. In fact, there were only nine other discoveries of two-headed cetaceans that had ever been reliably documented. Symmetrical conjoined twins are thought to result when two separate embryos fuse together or when a zygote only partially splits. However, a full understanding of what causes conjoined twins remains unknown.
After reading the article, I was surprised to find out that there was such a low discovery of conjoined twins. Initially, I never thought about how this could also affect wildlife outside of domestic situations. I always thought conjoined twins and other odd deformities were a result of corrupt breeding or inbreeding, but to have it occur in the wild is a new discovery to me. I think that it is incredibly interesting to learn about the rarity of this occurrence and how it has received such a large reaction from different researchers.
Gibbens, Sarah. "Two-Headed Porpoise Found For First Time." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 14 June 2017. Web. 15 June 2017.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/06/two-headed-porpoise-found-first/
Who would have thought there would be a two-headed animal in the world. I find that really interesting and if that is true, then there should be more similar to the dolphin in our ecosystem.
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ReplyDeleteHas there been anymore recent discoveries on this species?
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ReplyDeleteI think it is very interesting that there was a two headed dolphin. I also thought it was very sad that the dolphin was a baby because it did not live very long. Also I wonder what caused the baby to be born that way. I wonder if it would have been able to be saved by the scientists if it was caught earlier.
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