Fishermen just hauled in a never-before-seen porpoise

Twitter/New Scientist

Fishermen off the coast of the Netherlands made history this week when they hauled in a two-headed porpoise that has never been seen before. When the fishermen brought in the mammal, it was already dead. Reportedly, the men thought it might be illegal to keep the animal and threw it back. However, before they pushed the porpoise back to the sea, one of the lucky

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When the fishermen brought in the mammal, it was already dead. Reportedly, the men thought it might be illegal to keep the animal and threw it back. However, before they pushed the porpoise back to the sea, one of the sailors took a picture of the animal.

CBS spoke with a professor at the Natural History Museum, who said that the discovery is extremely rare. He said that regular twins are very uncommon in porpoises and that in all his years as a scientist, this is the first time he’s ever seen a conjoined twin.

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Unfortunately, the animal likely died after being born, due to the fact that it was unable to swim. Conjoined twins have a difficult time moving in sync, and since porpoises are born swimming, the mammal probably drowned almost immediately. The professor also noted that porpoises use their spinal column for movement, and the spine in this creature may be the only one in existence.

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