Beluga and narwhals are surprisingly tolerant with each other [1] but whales have "cultures". What mother eats is eaten by the offspring. A different diet points towards a captive animal. Hybrids in dolphins happen with relative ease in captivity. Maybe related with beluga experiments by Russian navy, maybe the former inhabitant of a zoo.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhGf7S4cSQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJhGf7S4cSQ</a>
I have to say the teeth are absolutely fascinating.<p>> The hybrid skull has a set of long, spiraling and pointed teeth, that are angled horizontally.<p>Narwhals do not not have teeth (beyond two vestigial ones behind their spiraled tusk). Belugas have 40, which are vertical. This cross-breed ended up with 18, <i>spiraled, horizontal teeth</i>. Which it seemingly adapted to raking the sea floor with.
Huh, narwhals and belugas aren't even in the same genus. Most well-known hybrids like tigers and lions, horses and donkeys, and tomatoes and potatoes have been between species in the same genus. Maybe this discovery will prompt biologists to place narwhals and belugas in the same genus? It must be lonely being the sole member of a genus, after all.
One thing I’m curious about is how the researchers even tell that the hybrid is a bottom dweller. They have only seen the skull, not what was inside the hybrid’s stomach. Can some biologist shed some light here?