New species of dolphin found off Australia

July 15, 2005

A new species of dolphin, the first to be identified these last three decades, has been discovered in Australian waters.

It was thought that the Australian snubfin dolphin was in fact an Irrawady dolphin (usually found in Asia and Australia) but DNA tests prove that it is in fact a different species. Its scientific name is Orcaella heinsohni, honouring George Heinsohn, an Australian biologist who worked at the James Cook University on dolphins.