A new dolphin species, the Burrunan dolphin Tursiops australis sp. nov., endemic to southern Australian coastal waters

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCharlton-Robb, K.
dc.contributor.authorGershwin, L.
dc.contributor.authorThompson, R.
dc.contributor.authorAustin, J.
dc.contributor.authorOwen, K.
dc.contributor.authorMcKechnie, S.
dc.contributor.editorFleischer, R.C.
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractSmall coastal dolphins endemic to south-eastern Australia have variously been assigned to described species Tursiops truncatus, T. aduncus or T. maugeanus; however the specific affinities of these animals is controversial and have recently been questioned. Historically ‘the southern Australian Tursiops’ was identified as unique and was formally named Tursiops maugeanus but was later synonymised with T. truncatus. Morphologically, these coastal dolphins share some characters with both aforementioned recognised Tursiops species, but they also possess unique characters not found in either. Recent mtDNA and microsatellite genetic evidence indicates deep evolutionary divergence between this dolphin and the two currently recognised Tursiops species. However, in accordance with the recommendations of the Workshop on Cetacean Systematics, and the Unified Species Concept the use of molecular evidence alone is inadequate for describing new species. Here we describe the macro-morphological, colouration and cranial characters of these animals, assess the available and new genetic data, and conclude that multiple lines of evidence clearly indicate a new species of dolphin. We demonstrate that the syntype material of T. maugeanus comprises two different species, one of which is the historical ‘southern form of Tursiops’ most similar to T. truncatus, and the other is representative of the new species and requires formal classification. These dolphins are here described as Tursiops australis sp. nov., with the common name of ‘Burrunan Dolphin’ following Australian aboriginal narrative. The recognition of T. australis sp. nov. is particularly significant given the endemism of this new species to a small geographic region of southern and south-eastern Australia, where only two small resident populations in close proximity to a major urban and agricultural centre are known, giving them a high conservation value and making them susceptible to numerous anthropogenic threats.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityKate Charlton-Robb, Lisa-ann Gershwin, Ross Thompson, Jeremy Austin, Kylie Owen and Stephen McKechnie
dc.identifier.citationPLoS One, 2011; 6(9):e24047-1-e24047-28
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0024047
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.orcidAustin, J. [0000-0003-4244-2942]
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/68869
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherPublic Library of Science
dc.rights© 2011 Charlton-Robb et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024047
dc.subjectAnimals
dc.subjectDolphins
dc.subjectCytochromes b
dc.subjectDNA, Mitochondrial
dc.subjectCluster Analysis
dc.subjectSequence Analysis, DNA
dc.subjectPhylogeny
dc.subjectMicrosatellite Repeats
dc.subjectHaplotypes
dc.subjectClassification
dc.subjectSouth Australia
dc.subjectBottle-Nosed Dolphin
dc.subjectGenetic Variation
dc.titleA new dolphin species, the Burrunan dolphin Tursiops australis sp. nov., endemic to southern Australian coastal waters
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
hdl_68869.pdf
Size:
673.6 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version
Download

Collections

Australian Centre for Ancient DNA publications
Environment Institute Leaders publications