Overview
- Speckles, a rare piebald bottlenose dolphin, was first spotted in Australian waters in September 2022, marking a significant discovery.
- Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast documented Speckles' unique black and white patchy skin coloration, attributed to piebaldism.
- Piebaldism, a partial loss of pigmentation, is extremely rare in marine mammals, with only 24 documented cases worldwide.
- Despite a healed shark bite, Speckles appeared healthy, indicating that the piebaldism has not affected its survival.
- The discovery of Speckles adds to the limited sightings of atypically colored marine mammals in Australian waters, previously noted only in whales.