Scientists examining a unique dolphin society in Greece recently discovered a unique specimen… with thumbs.
Dolphins are smart. But one major asset we humans have, besides being able to walk, is our thumbs. This particular dolphin's thumbs are apparently immobile (thankfully, for our species) and look like a pair of bottle openers built into the side fins.
The discovery was made by researchers from the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute working in the Gulf of Corinth. The team shared their findings in a YouTube video uploaded in October, and they say:
“Amazing things are happening in the Gulf of Corinth! Its mixed society of dolphins is globally unique. Since 1995, the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute has been conducting research to study them, with shocking discoveries.
All four of the most common Mediterranean dolphin species live in the Gulf of Corinth: the striped dolphin, the common dolphin, the gray dolphin and the bottlenose dolphin. The bottlenose dolphin is the dominant species.
The bottlenose dolphin, a purely pelagic species, has not been observed anywhere else in the world in an enclosed bay, as is the case in the Gulf of Corinth. Together with common and gray dolphins, they form a permanent mixed pod of dolphins. Such permanent symbiosis has never been observed anywhere else in the world. Given the genetic distances between the three species, it is as if humans lived in a mixed society with chimpanzees and gorillas!
During a recent survey in 2023 to estimate dolphin abundance, surprising new observations were made:
1) We saw the same gray dolphin again 26 years after its first sighting in 1997,
2) We recorded a unique bottlenose dolphin with thumbs on both flippers,
3) A female common dolphin had adopted or kidnapped a newborn bottlenose dolphin and was nursing it.
The Gulf of Corinth is an IMMA (Globally Important Marine Mammal Area) and a Natura2000 site. However, to date no measures have been taken to protect it, making the mixed society of dolphins particularly vulnerable to environmental changes and human activities.
The unique and wonderful dolphin society of the Gulf of Corinth deserves our full attention and must be protected as a natural treasure of this world!
Drone video: Alexandros Franzis
Underwater videos: Alexandros Tsalapatis
Montage: Paris Issaris, Alexandros Frantzis
Music: https://elements.envato.com και οι φίλοι μας τα δελφίνια “
George is still wondering what he is doing here….
