While the strange looking animal seems like it is a single animal with 2 heads, it is actually much more likely to be 2 animals which are conjoined twins – commonly known as partial twinning, an extremely rare condition.
So rare in fact, that this is actually only the 10th known specimen of conjoined twin to ever be discovered in the cetacean family.
The fisherman who caught the animal actually returned it back to the ocean, although it was already likely dead. They believed however that keeping such an animal would be illegal.
“The anatomy of cetaceans is strikingly different from terrestrial mammals with adaptations for living in the sea as a mammal,” said study co-author Erwin Kompanje. “Much is unknown. Adding any extra case to the known nine specimens brings more knowledge on this aspect.”
Two-headed beast fished out of the ocean is a world first for these dolphin relatives https://t.co/Bgiq1MxRqr pic.twitter.com/brEXPJ14xD
— New Scientist (@newscientist) June 15, 2017
