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| Orcinus may not be monotypic afterall... | |
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| Topic Started: Oct 16 2014, 09:00 PM (601 Views) | |
| Yi Qi | Oct 16 2014, 09:00 PM Post #1 |
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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130627-killer-whale-orca-new-species-animal-science/ A rare breed of killer whale that inhabits the waters of the subantartic circle was DNA tested recently, it appears likely it is a new species seeing as it started differentiating from its more normal looking relatives atleast 400.000 years ago. they also look quite different to all known populations of O.orca, check this chart, its the type D.
Edited by Yi Qi, Oct 16 2014, 09:02 PM.
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| Taurotragus | Oct 16 2014, 09:16 PM Post #2 |
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Wow this is really cool, it's good to know that there are still large animals to find out there. So what's the animal's name going to be?
Edited by Taurotragus, Oct 16 2014, 09:18 PM.
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| Yi Qi | Oct 16 2014, 09:31 PM Post #3 |
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It still needs a proper description for it to get a scientific name. Atm people are mostly calling it subantartic orca or Type D orca. and remember, its the ocean we're talking about, things can hide there and stay hidden for entire centuries, just look at beaked whales, many of them have never been seen alive and were only known from stranded corpses washed ashore on the coast. One particular species Mesoplodon traversii, the spade toothed whale was, for two centuries only known from skeletal material, we didn't even knew what it looked like untill a dead specimen washed ashore in 2012, two thousand freaking twelve! We only knew this creature from cranial remains and could only have a little glance at its appearance when a dead animal appeared 200 years after the original find, and we have yet to see one alive. so yes, there sure is a lot of mysterious large animals hiding around the ocean. Edited by Yi Qi, Oct 16 2014, 09:39 PM.
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| Mathius Tyra | Oct 16 2014, 10:11 PM Post #4 |
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Rat snake is love... Rat snake is life
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I would name it the common name, the Half-sleep Killer whale.... |
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| Burns | Oct 16 2014, 10:51 PM Post #5 |
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King of Lemurs
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This seems interesting. I will keep my eye on this topic. |
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| Similis | Oct 17 2014, 12:35 AM Post #6 |
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I can't say I was surprised by this. It's interesting nevertheless, as pretty much any find about elusive animals. |
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| Jannick | Oct 17 2014, 04:27 AM Post #7 |
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Papua merdeka!
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Hasn't it been obvious for quite a while that there are multiple species of Killer whale? XD IIRC the type C is supposed to be distinct as well. |
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| Yi Qi | Oct 17 2014, 05:26 AM Post #8 |
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Actually, untill very recently, they were considered only distinct populations of the same species, there was the assumption that they could've been different but there was never a DNA test or any sort of genetic study in the subject, its only now that DNA tests seem to confirm it to type D, Type C we don't know yet, as we don't have DNA samples for more extensive testing on type C. But yeah while its been suspected for a while, it wasn't till now that we got factual evidence of that. |
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| Stephen | Oct 17 2014, 07:10 AM Post #9 |
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Stuck on Earth
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Well, it's not like they were never seen before, it's just that scientific research has proven that Type D orcas are a separate subspecies. |
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| Jannick | Oct 17 2014, 07:50 AM Post #10 |
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Papua merdeka!
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Ah, right. I forgot Of course it's probably going to be a while before any samples of type C are collected since they live right within the Antarctic pack ice zone. After type D they are definitely the most morphologically (and behaviorally) distinct of the various ecotypes though, with their diminutive size (maximum recorded size is 6m for males), their forward-slanting eyepatch and their tri-colored body pattern. Then again, morphological and behavioral data aren't enough to make a species distinction in this case.
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| Yi Qi | Oct 17 2014, 01:45 PM Post #11 |
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More than it, a separate species altogether. |
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| Flower | Oct 17 2014, 01:56 PM Post #12 |
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eternal finessé
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Their head structure looks a bit different from the other types, and similar to that of a short-finned pilot whale. ![]() Well, good to know another mystery of the ocean.
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| Rockypockypuff | Oct 17 2014, 05:13 PM Post #13 |
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Is walkin' with a dead man.
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So, as an entire new species, it's latin name will be something orther than Orcinus orca? Interesting. I had actually classified it as a subspieces to the O. orca in my head already, same with the Gerlache and Ross Sea orcas. |
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| Yi Qi | Oct 17 2014, 05:29 PM Post #14 |
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Most likely yes, nomeclature will change after proper description. |
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Of course it's probably going to be a while before any samples of type C are collected since they live right within the Antarctic pack ice zone. After type D they are definitely the most morphologically (and behaviorally) distinct of the various ecotypes though, with their diminutive size (maximum recorded size is 6m for males), their forward-slanting eyepatch and their tri-colored body pattern. Then again, morphological and behavioral data aren't enough to make a species distinction in this case.


