Two-Headed / Bicephalic Cetaceans (Dolphins, etc.)

[kamalktk]

{there is a pic of the dead dolphin corpse in the article}

Body of two-headed dolphin washes up on beach in Turkey

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/body-two-headed-dolphin-washes-turkish-beach-article-1.1899287

A two-headed dolphin has been discovered on a Turkish beach after washing up onto the shore near Izmir on Monday.

Educator Tugrul Metin, 39, was walking along the western town’s sands when he spotted the dead mammal.

Just 3.2-feet in length, the 1-year-old calf had two heads but then appeared to merge down to share one tail.

“I couldn't take it in at first,” Metin told AOL Travel. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me — I’ve never even heard about a dolphin like this let alone seen one with my own eyes — I was completely shocked.”

Metin called cops and the deceased sea mammal's body was taken to a nearby science laboratory for further investigation.

Marine biologist Mehmet Gokoglu, from Ak Deniz University, said he “welcomed” the chance to study such a unique animal.

“Such a dolphin is a very rare occurrence — similar to the occurrence of conjoined human twins,” he said.

 

[Cyclops]

That's fascinating - thanks for posting, kamalktk!

I have my doubts about it being a year old, though. I suspect it was a newborn, either dead at birth or soon after.

 

[ramonmercado]

Two-headed porpoise caught in fishing net is first ever found

A rare case of cetacean conjoined twins
Henk Tanis

By Georgina Hines

Fishers off the coast of the Netherlands got quite a shock when they caught what has now been confirmed as the first case of conjoined twin harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena).

With a single body and two fully grown heads, this is a case of partial twinning, or parapagus dicephalus. The sighting is extremely rare: these male porpoises are only the 10th known case of conjoined twins in cetaceans, a group of animals that also includes whales and dolphins.

“The anatomy of cetaceans is strikingly different from terrestrial mammals with adaptations for living in the sea as a mammal. Much is unknown,” says Erwin Kompanje at the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, and one of the authors of the paper describing the find. “Adding any extra case to the known nine specimens brings more knowledge on this aspect.”

The fishers who made the discovery returned the twins – which were probably already dead when caught – to the ocean. They believed it would be illegal to keep such a specimen, but were able to produce a series of photographs useful for research. ...

https://www.newscientist.com/articl...ocial&utm_source=Twitter#link_time=1497430389