Bizarre 2-Headed Porpoise spotted for the First Time in North Sea
Dutch fishermen have discovered the world’s first ever two-headed porpoise in the waters off the coast of Holland.
The bizarre creature was captured in a trawler net by mistake and was already dead when it was pulled aboard. After taking a few pictures of it, the fishermen apparently threw it back into the sea because they thought they may get in trouble with fishing authorities.
However, experts are now studying the photos with huge interest because it appears to be the first ever case of conjoined twin porpoises ever discovered.
Twinning isn’t unheard of in marine life but it’s rare that such a specimen ever finds its way into human hands. According to experts at the University of Rotterdam, this porpoise probably died shortly after it was born.
There are hairs on the upper lip, which should have fallen out after it was born – indicating it died very young.
Twins in general are very rare in porpoises, because of the size of the mother’s body.
“Normal twins are extremely rare in cetaceans,” Erwin Kompanje, of the Erasmus MC University Medical Center in Rotterdam, told New Scientist .
“There is simply not enough room in the body of the female to give room to more than one fetus.”
It’s the latest in a long list of strange creatures pulled from the sea or washed up on our shores this year.
Scientists recently identified a strange white blob “monster” that washed up on a beach in the Philippines.
Gobsmacked locals rushed to take selfies with the 20-foot creature after it appeared on a beach in Cagdianao, the Dinagat Islands earlier this year.
Mutant two-headed sharks are becoming more common in the wild but it’s not clear why.
