New Dolphin Species Identified
Tursiops Australis (Photo: Camille Ménard/Wiki Commons)
We’re down under for the Geo Quiz. We’re looking for a city in Australia that boasts a number of firsts.
It was home to Australia’s first traffic lights, installed in 1928. The country’s first elevators – both freight and passenger – cranked up there in the 1870s and 80s. And the first women’s only gym in Australia opened in this city back in 1879.
Also, a local brewery was the first in the nation to sell beer in cans as opposed to bottles. That was in 1958.
Now this city can boast another first. Its harbor is the first known home of a new species of dolphin.
So where are we?
Answer: Melbourne, Australia.
Kate Charlton-Robb of Monash University in Melbourne and her colleagues studied dolphin skulls found in a number of museums, as well as more detailed analysis of DNA, to show that Tursiops Australis is clearly a different animal.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.