Unprecedented Discovery: Dolphin with 'Thumbs' Amazes Scientists

1 min read
Source: HuffPost
Unprecedented Discovery: Dolphin with 'Thumbs' Amazes Scientists
Photo: HuffPost
TL;DR Summary

Scientists at the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in Greece have discovered a dolphin with deformed flippers that resemble human thumbs in the Gulf of Corinth. This is the first time such a morphology has been observed in 30 years of surveys in the open sea. The dolphin appears to be swimming and playing normally, suggesting that the shape of its flippers is not due to illness. It is believed that the deformity is a result of rare and irregular genes caused by inbreeding, as the dolphin population in the gulf is isolated from its Mediterranean peers.

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