A wholphin (

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordscetacean

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

born from a mating of a female

common bottlenose dolphin The common bottlenose dolphin or Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (''Tursiops truncatus'') is a wide-ranging marine mammal of the family Delphinidae. The common bottlenose dolphin is a very familiar dolphin due to the wide exposure it gets in captiv ...

(''Tursiops truncatus'') with a male

false killer whale The false killer whale (''Pseudorca crassidens'') is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus '' Pseudorca''. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first described in 184 ...

(''Pseudorca crassidens''). The name implies a hybrid of whale and dolphin, although

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

omically, both are within the

oceanic dolphin Oceanic dolphins or Delphinidae are a widely distributed family of dolphins that live in the sea. Close to forty extant species are recognised. They include several big species whose common names contain "whale" rather than "dolphin", such as the ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, which is within the

toothed whale The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales possessing teeth, such as the beaked whales and sperm whales. Seventy-three species of ...

parvorder. Wholphins have been born in captivity and have also been reported in the wild.

Examples

The first recorded wholphin was born in a Tokyo

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (one park will be ...

in 1981; he died after 200 days. The first wholphin in the United States and the first to survive was Kekaimalu, born at

Sea Life Park Sea Life Park Hawaii is a marine mammal park, bird sanctuary and aquarium in Waimānalo near Makapuʻu Point, north of Hanauma Bay on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, United States. The park first opened in 1964, and includes exhibits that let visi ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

on May 15, 1985; her name means "from the peaceful ocean". Kekaimalu proved fertile when she gave birth at a very young age. The calf died after a few days. In 1991, Kekaimalu gave birth again, to her daughter, Pohaikealoha. 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 did nurse and was very playful. Only months after birth, it was the size of a one-year-old bottlenose dolphin. All three calves were three-quarters bottlenose dolphin and one-quarter false killer whale. , Kekaimalu and Kawili Kai remain in captivity in Sea Life Park.

Family tree

References

External links

Waimanalo Hapa Girl Makes 10!
at Internet Archive, by Keene Rees {{Mammal hybrids Mammal hybrids Oceanic dolphins Intergeneric hybrids