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NEWS > SCIENCE > NEW SPECIES OF DOLPHIN DISCOVERED AND NEARLY DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION
NEW SPECIES OF DOLPHIN DISCOVERED AND NEARLY DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION
October 23 2011
Melbourne, Australia – Researchers in Melbourne have made a surprising discovery, stating that they have found a species of dolphin previously unknown to science. The animal is believed to only exist in a handful of places along the Australia coast. It is the first new species of dolphin discovered since the 1800’s.
With an estimated population of only 150, the Tursiops australis is also thought to be amongst the rarest of the many species of the marine mammals. Already a few dozen have been caught in fishing nets and died, putting the new species on the track towards extinction within a few short years.
“This is an incredibly fascinating discovery as there have only been three new dolphin species formally described and recognized since the late 1800s,” said Kate Charlton-Robb of the University of Melbourne. “What makes this even more exciting is this dolphin species has been living right under our noses, with only two known resident populations living in Port Phillip Bay and the Gippsland Lakes in Victoria.”
Those two animals were later killed by a motor boat, reducing the population of the animals even further. Only hours after the discovery the population had reduced by as much as twenty percent and appears to be dropping rapidly.
“This is a wonderful discovery and something totally unexpected. Every day we are finding more and more new species of life on the planet but rarely have we found large mammals such as this dolphin. The fact that this species could go unrecognized for so 
long speaks volumes to the diversity of life on the planet,” said a spokesperson for the IUCN in Switzerland. “It is, however, disturbing that the population numbers are so low. Unfortunately, this means that the animal will be added to our Red List immediately. We classify these dolphins as critically endangered and we are very concerned about their future.”
The IUCN has not made any recommendations as to how to preserve the animals. By the time they found out about the species and additional 12 dolphins were presumed to have been killed or caught in fishing gear.
“This is a great story, unfortunately it looks like it will be a short one. Dolphins are very smart and very active and that makes them very difficult to protect. Their best asset is actually their worst trait in terms of conservation,” said Scrape TV Zoology analyst Cambridge Walker. “It’s really too bad because it would have great to have studied them in the wild, post-mortems just aren’t as informative but I guess that’s all we will have left very soon.”
It’s not yet clear when the species will go extinct, though it’s likely very soon.
“It’s great that these animals exist at all, but unfortunately now that we have found them they are likely going to go extinct much more rapidly. The more attention paid to them, the closer they will come to human habitats and that means, well that doesn’t mean anything good,” continued Walker. “It was nice having them for a little while at least, it’s just a shame they couldn’t stick around a little longer.”
At least four have been killed since this article was written.
Anna Phillips, Science Correspondent
NEWS > SCIENCE > NEW SPECIES OF DOLPHIN DISCOVERED AND NEARLY DRIVEN TO EXTINCTION
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