“Ugliest Dolphin” Finally Filmed | National Geographic

recently scientists released the first
video of a mysterious dolphin species
the snub fin dolphin has a distinctive
bulbous head it’s been reported that
until recently this dolphin was thought
to be of the Irrawaddy dolphin species
that is in serious decline due to
threats from human activities there’s
almost nothing known about this species
we are literally starting from scratch
it was identified three years ago off
Western Australia’s remote Kimberley
coast and is said to be the most recent
dolphin species to be reclassified under
a different taxonomic name it may be the
world’s ugliest dolphin some people have
said that but to those of us that have
seen them but you know I’m just
absolutely blown away by this creature
they are absolutely endearing like many
dolphins the snub fins aren’t used to
humans and are easily scared away last
week researchers used a skin sampling
gun to retrieve a DNA sample from the
dolphins for genetic examination the
skin sample collected from the dart
provides a mountain of information the
snub fin dolphin is apparently unique to
the waters near Australia and scientists
don’t know much about the mammals snub
fins have been observed in the Kimberley
region and the new species has also been
spotted off the Northern Territory and
in Queensland dolphins inhabiting
coastal and river waters are among the
most threatened species of mammals on
the planet