https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. New research has revealed that marine mammals who live far below the ocean's surface are not immune from the burden of toxic forever chemicals, with whales and dolphins showing unprecedented levels of PFAS contamination. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-unprecedented-chemicals-dolphins-whales.html Environment Thu, 27 Nov 2025 09:20:01 EST news683212807 Bottlenose dolphins have been dying from Morbillivirus at alarming rates in recent decades. Infected and sick animals suffer a combination of symptoms similar to pneumonia, encephalitis, and a damaged immune system. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-synchronized-diseases-bottlenose-dolphins-cetaceans.html Plants & Animals Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:00:01 EDT news675006061 Paleontologists from the University of Zurich have announced the discovery of a new species of freshwater dolphin in the Peruvian Amazon region. Surprisingly, its closest living relatives can be found in the river dolphins of South Asia. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-ancient-giant-dolphin-amazon.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 20 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EDT news630146931 An international team of marine scientists has observed multiple instances of bottlenose dolphins attacking manatee calves over many years. In their paper published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, the group describes the behavior they observed and suggest possible explanations for what they describe as antagonistic interactions between dolphins and young manatee. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-bottlenose-dolphins-manatee-calves.html Plants & Animals Tue, 23 Jan 2024 10:15:19 EST news625227317 A team of zoologists, environmental scientists, marine biologists and life scientists affiliated with several institutions in Ireland and the U.K. has found that despite international bans, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) continue to be both widespread and pervasive in the environment, including the world's oceans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-years-persistent-pollutants-threat-marine.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:13:38 EST news620388816 Dolphins and porpoises are welcome features of Australia's coastline however little is known about the predation risk they face from sharks in their habitat. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-reveals-incidence-shark-predation-australian.html Plants & Animals Thu, 25 May 2023 12:41:26 EDT news604237283 Twenty million years ago, the Swiss Plateau region, or Mittelland, was an ocean in which dolphins swam. Researchers at the University of Zurich's Paleontological Institute have now discovered two previously unknown species related to modern sperm whales and oceanic dolphins, which they identified based on ear bones. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-previously-unknown-dolphin-species-ancient.html Paleontology & Fossils Tue, 17 May 2022 13:05:59 EDT news572011557 Ocean-dwelling dolphins have repeatedly adapted to life in coastal areas throughout history. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-dolphins-coast.html Plants & Animals Wed, 08 Dec 2021 09:47:33 EST news558179248 In their search for pink river dolphins, researchers in the Peruvian Amazon scooped up river water sloshing with genetic material that they hoped could trace the elusive creatures. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-world-dna-tool-nature-tracking.html Ecology Tue, 07 Sep 2021 11:54:45 EDT news550234480 After two decades of research, a scientific study, led by the University of St Andrews, has recognized the endangered Indus and Ganges river dolphins as separate species. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-endangered-dolphins-species-scientists.html Plants & Animals Wed, 24 Mar 2021 08:45:07 EDT news535794303 Scientific evidence shows specialized features in the large brains of whales and dolphins that are adapted for heat production. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-whale-dolphin-brains-specialfor-production.html Plants & Animals Tue, 09 Mar 2021 10:18:08 EST news534507484 China's critically endangered Yangtze River porpoise is a distinct species, meaning it cannot interbreed with other porpoise types to pass on its DNA, a major analysis of the creature's genome revealed on Tuesday. https://phys.org/news/2018-04-porpoise-gene-river-pig-unique.html Plants & Animals Tue, 10 Apr 2018 12:29:44 EDT news442582176 Norwegian scientists have seen polar bears eating dolphins in the Arctic for the first time ever and blame global warming for the bears expanding their diet. https://phys.org/news/2015-06-polar-dolphins-arctic.html Ecology Fri, 12 Jun 2015 08:10:04 EDT news353314849 The unusual river dolphins, some of them known for their poor eyesight and side-swimming behavior are all descendants of ocean-dwelling species. Until now, however, there has been no consensus about their relationships, and few specimens to help illuminate them. In the new issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers describe a new fossil dolphin species from the Miocene (dating to more than 16 mya) of the Pisco Basin, a desert on the coast of Peru. It belongs to a rare extinct family of marine dolphins, the squalodelphinids, which are related to the endangered Ganges and Indus river dolphins living today. The new specimens increase the known diversity of squalodelphinids and help shed light on their relationships. https://phys.org/news/2014-09-species-extinct-dolphin-river-history.html Archaeology Tue, 09 Sep 2014 16:00:02 EDT news329496645 A species of humpback dolphin previously unknown to science is swimming in the waters off northern Australia, according to a team of researchers working for the Wildlife Conservation Society, the American Museum of Natural History, and numerous other groups that contributed to the study. https://phys.org/news/2013-10-scientists-dolphin-australian-species.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:14:48 EDT news302274879 Researchers from Nanjing Normal University and BGI report their original genomic research on Baiji, also known as Yangtze River dolphin (Lipotes vexillifer). The study gives new insight into the genetic and evolutionary adaptations of Dolphin, and provides valuable resources for the conservation of mammals and cetaceans in particular. The latest study was published online in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2013-10-scientists-gain-insights-dolphin-evolutionary.html Biotechnology Tue, 29 Oct 2013 13:40:00 EDT news302272779 (Phys.org) —The Yangtze finless porpoise, which inhabits the high-traffic waters near the Three Gorges Dam in China, is highly endangered, with only about 1,000 animals alive today. Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their Chinese colleagues are using medical technology to shed new light on this species' critical sense of hearing in a waterway punctuated by constant shipping, dredging, and underwater construction. https://phys.org/news/2013-10-dark-porpoises-world-busiest-rivers.html Plants & Animals Mon, 21 Oct 2013 09:50:01 EDT news301566680 Dolphins can recognize their old tank mates' whistles after being separated for more than 20 years—the longest social memory ever recorded for a non-human species. https://phys.org/news/2013-08-dolphins-lifelong-social-memories-longest.html Plants & Animals Tue, 06 Aug 2013 19:10:02 EDT news295023274 Bottlenose dolphins have whistles which they use to exclusively greet other members of their species, marine biologists in Scotland reported on Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2012-02-dolphin-unfit-porpoise.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:22:17 EST news249711728 It might sound like a mashup of monster movies, but palaeontologists have discovered evidence of how an extinct shark attacked its prey, reconstructing a killing that took place 4 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2010-03-jaws-million-bc.html Archaeology Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:17:43 EDT news187964241 A 1,000-pound slab of sandstone lifted off a beach in Santa Cruz County, Calif., Wednesday may provide a better glimpse of what plied the seas 5 million years ago. https://phys.org/news/2009-08-ancient-toothed-whale-santa-cruz.html Archaeology Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:45:47 EDT news169404317