{{Short description|Hybrid born from mating female common bottlenose dolphin and a male false killer whale}} {{About|the animal|the magazine of short films|Wholphin (DVD magazine)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Hybridbox/lua | name = Wholphin | image = Baby wolphin by pinhole.jpeg | image_alt = Kawili Kai, born to a female wholphin by a male dolphin, at 9 months of age in September 2005 | image_caption = Kawili Kai, born to Kekaimalu (a female wholphin) by a male dolphin, at 9 months of age in September 2005 | parent = Delphinidae | genus1 = Tursiops | species1 = truncatus | link1 = Common bottlenose dolphin | genus2 = Pseudorca | species2 = crassidens | link2 = False killer whale }} A '''wholphin''' ''(portmanteau of '''wh'''ale and d'''olphin''')'' is an informal term used to refer to a number of rare cetacean hybrids. Wholphins have been born in captivity and have also been reported in the wild.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7508288|title=Whale-dolphin hybrid has baby wholphin|date=April 15, 2005|publisher=NBC News}}</ref><ref name=":2" /> The most well-observed wholphins are captive-born hybrids of false killer whales (''Pseudorca crassidens'') and common bottlenose dolphins (''Tursiops truncatus''),<ref name="Tribune" /> although other kinds of toothed whale hybrids have also been referred to by the term "wholphin"<ref>{{cite news |title=First ever 'wholphin' hybrid spotted in wild |url=https://news.sky.com/story/first-ever-wholphin-hybrid-spotted-in-wild-11455040 |access-date=28 September 2023 |publisher=Sky News |date=31 July 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2018-07-31 |title=Don't call rare hybrid a 'wholphin' |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/dont-call-rare-hybrid-a-wholphin/stso4no6l |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=SBS News |language=en}}</ref>
The name implies a hybrid of whale and dolphin, though taxonomically, both parents are in the oceanic dolphin family, which is in the toothed whale clade- some experts have discouraged the use of the term "Wholphin" for this reason.<ref name=":1" />
Wholphins also exhibit physical and behavioural characteristics intermediate between those of their parent species. While much larger than most dolphins, the wholphin becomes an exceptional example of hybrid vigour.{{clarify|date=March 2025}}
== Examples == thumb|A Wholphin
The first recorded wholphin was born in a Tokyo SeaWorld in 1981; he died after 200 days.<ref name=Tribune>{{cite news|last=West|first=Karen|title=A Whale? A Dolphin? Yes, It's A Wholphin|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/05/18/a-whale-a-dolphin-yes-its-a-wholphin/|access-date=July 9, 2013|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=May 18, 1986 | quote = Born at Sea Life Park on May 15, 1985, Keikaimalu was referred to as a wholphin by Sea Life Park's training staff. |url-status=live| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140320053023/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-05-18/travel/8602060063_1_wholphin-false-killer-whale-bottlenose | archive-date = 20 March 2014}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=clarify what kind of cetacean hybrid the term "wholphin" refers to here (source does not specify)|date=April 2026}}
=== Kekaimalu ===
The first wholphin in the United States and the first to survive was Kekaimalu, born at Sea Life Park in Hawaii on May 15, 1985; her name means "from the peaceful ocean".<ref name="Tribune" /> This type of hybrid was considered unexpected{{By whom|date=April 2026}} given the sometimes extreme size difference between a female common bottlenose dolphin (typically 2 meters long and 300 kilograms) and a male false killer whale (over 5 meters long and over 1,800 kg). Both false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins have 44 chromosomes, allowing them to produce fertile offspring.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=áRnason |first=úLfur |date=2009-02-12 |title=Comparative chromosome studies in Cetacea |url=http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/j.1601-5223.1974.tb01351.x |journal=Hereditas |language=en |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=1–36 |doi=10.1111/j.1601-5223.1974.tb01351.x|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-25 |title=Meet The Wholphin, The Unlikely Hybrid Of Intermingling Cetaceans |url=https://www.iflscience.com/meet-the-wholphin-the-unlikely-hybrid-of-intermingling-cetaceans-70843 |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=IFLScience |language=en}}</ref>
Kekaimalu proved fertile when she gave birth at a very young age. John Blanchard, a trainer at Sea Life Park, has said about Kekaimalu: <ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2023-06-07 |title=Scientists Discover Rare Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Near Hawaii |url=https://www.dogonews.com/2018/8/6/scientists-discover-rare-whale-dolphin-hybrid-near-hawaii |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=DOGOnews |language=en}}</ref><blockquote>“The wholphin was darker than the other dolphins, and her nose looked like it was chopped off… [she] represented an unusual example of hybridization between two species of dolphin with markedly different sizes and appearances.”</blockquote>
In 1991, Kekaimalu gave birth, to her daughter, Pohaikealoha, with an unknown, male dolphin. 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 was nursed and was very playful. Only months after birth, it was the size of a one-year-old bottlenose dolphin.<ref name="sean">{{cite news |author=Sean B. Carroll |title=Remarkable creatures: Hybrids may thrive where parents fear to tread |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/science/14creatures.html?src=me&ref=general |quote=The first captive wholphin, Kekaimalu, was born on May 15, 1985, to a female bottlenose dolphin named Punahele, who shared a pool with a male false killer whale named Tanui Hahai. The wholphin's size, color and shape are intermediate between the parent species. She has 66 teeth – intermediate between a bottlenose (88 teeth) and false killer whale (44 teeth) |work=New York Times |date=September 13, 2010 |access-date=September 14, 2010|author-link=Sean B. Carroll }}</ref> All three calves were three-quarters bottlenose dolphin and one-quarter false killer whale.<ref>{{cite journal|date=January–February 2006 |title=Ditching SUVs and Breeding Beefalos|journal=E Magazine|volume=17|issue=1|page=64|access-date=May 4, 2013|url=http://www.questiaschool.com/read/1G1-141706612/ditching-suvs-and-breeding-beefalos | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130702060324/https://www.thefreelibrary.com/Ditching+SUVs+and+breeding+beefalos.-a0141706612 | archive-date = 2 July 2013 | url-status = dead}}</ref> Kekaimalu died on July 8, 2024 at the age of 39. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C9Obe9IM3ZH/?igsh=cjBkZXB1YW9zd2Qw |access-date=2024-07-11 |website=www.instagram.com}}</ref> Kawili Kai remains in captivity in Sea Life Park.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sealifeparkhawaii.com/conservation-n-education/animal-profiles/dolphins---whales |publisher=Sea Life Park Hawaii |access-date=March 25, 2020 |title=Animal profiles: Dolphins & whales |date=December 24, 2014 }}</ref>
==== Family tree ==== {{tree chart/start|align=center}} {{tree chart | | | | | | IAN | | | | | | PUN | | IAN = Tanui Hahai (false killer whale) ♂ | PUN = Punahele (bottlenose dolphin) ♀ |}} {{tree chart | | | | | | |`|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|'|}} {{tree chart | | PAI | | | | | |KEK | | | | | GOL | | PAI = Unknown dolphin ♂ | KEK = Kekaimalu (wholphin) ♀ | GOL = bottlenose dolphin ♂ | boxstyle_KEK = background-color: #ddf; |}} {{tree chart | | |`|-|-|-|v|-|-|'| |`|-|-|-|v|-|-|'|}} {{tree chart | | |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|.| | | | |!|}} {{tree chart | | FI1 | | | | | | POH | | | KAW | | FI1 = Unnamed child| POH = Pohaikealoha ♀ | KAW = Kawili Kai ♀ | }} {{tree chart/end}}
=== Other hybrids referred to as "wholphins" === In August 2017 a hybrid between a rough toothed dolphin and a melon-headed whale was observed off the coast of the island of Kaua'i. This was the first time such a hybrid had been recorded.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Presented byBarbara |date=2018-08-01 |title=Sighting of a hybrid 'wholphin' confirmed in Hawaii |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/worldtoday/sighting-of-a-hybrid-wolphin-confirmed-in-hawaii/10061188 |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelleher |first=Jennifer Sinco |date=2018-07-31 |title=First Sighting of a Whale-Dolphin Hybrid Off the Coast of Hawaii {{!}} KQED |url=https://www.kqed.org/science/1928350/first-sighting-of-a-whale-dolphin-hybrid-off-the-coast-of-hawaii |access-date=2026-04-25 |website=www.kqed.org |language=en}}</ref>
== Capabilities and behaviour == {{More citations needed section|date=April 2026}} Wholphin behavior represents both parent species. They are intelligent, highly social, and can be trained to do complex tasks; shared traits of false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins alike. Captive wholphins have been observed to be playful and show a great deal of curiosity about their surroundings, the same as bottlenose dolphins. Despite being recorded in the wild, only a few confirmed sightings of wholphins have been seen in nature.{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}} Although natural sightings are improbable due to the differences in habitat preference and social structure between the parent species, this is not impossible.
== Exterior and physical description == Wholphins also have mixed traits from their parents. They are mostly smaller in size compared to false killer whales, but larger than bottlenose dolphins. Their coloring is mostly a dark grey, with their body proportion and dental features falling between the two species (i.e., wholphins have more teeth than bottlenose dolphins but fewer than false killer whales on average).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Facts |first=Whale |date=2013-01-16 |title=Wholphin / Wolphin |url=https://www.whalefacts.org/wholphin/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Whale Facts |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050429030139/http://hotspotshawaii.com/Wolphin.html Waimanalo Hapa Girl Makes 10!] at Internet Archive, by Keene Rees
{{Mammal hybrids}}
Category:Mammal hybrids Category:Oceanic dolphins Category:Intergeneric hybrids