Researchers saw the dolphin swimming without its flukes, or tail fins, in 2022. There have been only four other similarly documented cases around the world.
While on a routine observation boat survey in September 2022, researchers with the Galveston Bay Dolphin Research Program, a collaborative initiative led by the Galveston Bay Foundation, quickly noticed something different about a bottlenose dolphin swimming in the water.
It was missing its flukes, the two lobes that make up the paddle-like end of a dolphin’s tail.
The sighting sparked a recent research publication that has brought “Dino” — the name given to the dolphin — to the attention of scientists worldwide due to the rarity of its condition. Vanessa Mintzer, director of dolphin research and conservation for the Galveston Bay Foundation, said there are only four other similarly documented cases around the world — in South Korea, Uruguay, the Mediterranean Sea and South Carolina…