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Wholphin

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A wholphin (portmanteau of whale and dolphin) is an informal term used to refer to a number of rare cetacean hybrids. Wholphins have been born in captivity and have also been reported in the wild.[1][2] The most well-observed wholphins are captive-born hybrids of false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) and common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus),[3] although other kinds of toothed whale hybrids have also been referred to by the term "wholphin"[4][5]

Wholphin
Kawili Kai, born to a female wholphin by a male dolphin, at 9 months of age in September 2005
Kawili Kai, born to Kekaimalu (a female wholphin) by a male dolphin, at 9 months of age in September 2005
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Placentalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Superfamily: Delphinoidea
Family: Delphinidae
Hybrid: Tursiops truncatus × Pseudorca crassidens

The name implies a hybrid of whale and dolphin, though taxonomically, both parents are in the oceanic dolphin family, which is in the toothed whale clade- some experts have discouraged the use of the term "Wholphin" for this reason.[5]

Wholphins also exhibit physical and behavioural characteristics intermediate between those of their parent species. While much larger than most dolphins, the wholphin becomes an exceptional example of hybrid vigour.[clarification needed]

Examples

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A Wholphin

The first recorded wholphin was born in a Tokyo SeaWorld in 1981; he died after 200 days.[3][clarification needed]

Kekaimalu

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The first wholphin in the United States and the first to survive was Kekaimalu, born at Sea Life Park in Hawaii on May 15, 1985; her name means "from the peaceful ocean".[3] This type of hybrid was considered unexpected[by whom?] given the sometimes extreme size difference between a female common bottlenose dolphin (typically 2 meters long and 300 kilograms) and a male false killer whale (over 5 meters long and over 1,800 kg). Both false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins have 44 chromosomes, allowing them to produce fertile offspring.[6][7]

Kekaimalu proved fertile when she gave birth at a very young age. John Blanchard, a trainer at Sea Life Park, has said about Kekaimalu: [2]

“The wholphin was darker than the other dolphins, and her nose looked like it was chopped off… [she] represented an unusual example of hybridization between two species of dolphin with markedly different sizes and appearances.”

In 1991, Kekaimalu gave birth, to her daughter, Pohaikealoha, with an unknown, male dolphin. For two years, she cared for the calf, but did not nurse it; it was hand-reared by trainers. Pohaikealoha died at age 9. On December 23, 2004, Kekaimalu had her third calf, daughter Kawili Kai, sired by a male bottlenose. The calf was nursed and was very playful. Only months after birth, it was the size of a one-year-old bottlenose dolphin.[8] All three calves were three-quarters bottlenose dolphin and one-quarter false killer whale.[9] Kekaimalu died on July 8, 2024 at the age of 39. [10] Kawili Kai remains in captivity in Sea Life Park.[11]

Family tree

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Tanui Hahai (false killer whale) ♂Punahele (bottlenose dolphin) ♀
Unknown dolphin ♂Kekaimalu (wholphin) ♀bottlenose dolphin ♂
Unnamed childPohaikealoha ♀Kawili Kai ♀

Other hybrids referred to as "wholphins"

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In August 2017 a hybrid between a rough toothed dolphin and a melon-headed whale was observed off the coast of the island of Kaua'i. This was the first time such a hybrid had been recorded.[12][13]

Capabilities and behaviour

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Wholphin behavior represents both parent species. They are intelligent, highly social, and can be trained to do complex tasks; shared traits of false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins alike. Captive wholphins have been observed to be playful and show a great deal of curiosity about their surroundings, the same as bottlenose dolphins. Despite being recorded in the wild, only a few confirmed sightings of wholphins have been seen in nature.[citation needed] Although natural sightings are improbable due to the differences in habitat preference and social structure between the parent species, this is not impossible.

Exterior and physical description

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Wholphins also have mixed traits from their parents. They are mostly smaller in size compared to false killer whales, but larger than bottlenose dolphins. Their coloring is mostly a dark grey, with their body proportion and dental features falling between the two species (i.e., wholphins have more teeth than bottlenose dolphins but fewer than false killer whales on average).[14]

References

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  1. ↑ "Whale-dolphin hybrid has baby wholphin". NBC News. April 15, 2005.
  2. 1 2 "Scientists Discover Rare Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Near Hawaii". DOGOnews. June 7, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 West, Karen (May 18, 1986). "A Whale? A Dolphin? Yes, It's A Wholphin". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on March 20, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2013. Born at Sea Life Park on May 15, 1985, Keikaimalu was referred to as a wholphin by Sea Life Park's training staff.
  4. ↑ "First ever 'wholphin' hybrid spotted in wild". Sky News. July 31, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Don't call rare hybrid a 'wholphin'". SBS News. July 31, 2018. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
  6. ↑ áRnason, úLfur (February 12, 2009). "Comparative chromosome studies in Cetacea". Hereditas. 77 (1): 1–36. doi:10.1111/j.1601-5223.1974.tb01351.x.
  7. ↑ "Meet The Wholphin, The Unlikely Hybrid Of Intermingling Cetaceans". IFLScience. September 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  8. ↑ Sean B. Carroll (September 13, 2010). "Remarkable creatures: Hybrids may thrive where parents fear to tread". New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2010. The first captive wholphin, Kekaimalu, was born on May 15, 1985, to a female bottlenose dolphin named Punahele, who shared a pool with a male false killer whale named Tanui Hahai. The wholphin's size, color and shape are intermediate between the parent species. She has 66 teeth – intermediate between a bottlenose (88 teeth) and false killer whale (44 teeth)
  9. ↑ "Ditching SUVs and Breeding Beefalos". E Magazine. 17 (1): 64. January–February 2006. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Animal profiles: Dolphins & whales". Sea Life Park Hawaii. December 24, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  12. ↑ Miller, Presented byBarbara (August 1, 2018). "Sighting of a hybrid 'wholphin' confirmed in Hawaii". ABC listen. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  13. ↑ Kelleher, Jennifer Sinco (July 31, 2018). "First Sighting of a Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Off the Coast of Hawaii | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved April 25, 2026.
  14. ↑ Facts, Whale (January 16, 2013). "Wholphin / Wolphin". Whale Facts. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
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