Big Headed Flipper - Scientists Name New Species of Dolphin
By Joe Tepper, December 14, 2010 @ 08:00 AM (EST)
Source: National Geographic News
National Geographic News has confirmed the discovery of a new, 2.5 million-year-old species of dolphin.
The new species -Hoekman's Blunt Snouted Dolphin- was not named after a deceased naturalist or marine biologist, but after a Dutch fisherman named Albert Hoekman who discovered the fossil while fishing in the North Sea.
The Hoekman's Blunt Snouted Dolphin measured up to 20-feet, featuring a short and spoon-shaped snout that supported a protruding forehead. It is believed that modern-day pilot whales are a decedent of these newly discovered dolphins, displaying the divergent evolutionary trait of the enlarged forehead for advanced echolocation.
The article in full can be read on the National Geographic News page.
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