Dr. Frederick Willem Jacob Mörzer Bruyns, a Dutch researcher, is renowned for his discoveries of cetaceans and other marine creatures. In his 1971 book "Field Guide of Whales and Dolphins," he described not only known species but also several mysterious ones that remain unclassified. Among them are the alula whale, the Greek dolphin, the Senegalese dolphin, and the Iligan dolphin. Each of these species remains controversial among zoologists, and their existence is based on uncertain observations by Mörzer Bruyns.
Dr. Frederick Willem Jacob Mörzer Bruyns, a renowned Dutch researcher, studied and described numerous species of cetaceans and other marine animals during his scientific career. However, he also encountered several species that remain unstudied or even unclassified.
Some zoologists question the existence of these several unknown cetacean species, pointing to the fact that in all cases, the only documented sightings of these animals were made by Mörzer Bruyns. He included descriptions of all the animals in his book "Field Guide of Whales and Dolphins" (Amsterdam, 1971).
Let's take a look at the whales he observed.
Alula whale
The most famous of all the cetaceans described by Mörzer Bruyns is undoubtedly the alula whale. He described this whale as "a sepia-brown version of the killer whale." Its body is approximately 6 to 7 meters long and covered with star-shaped white scars. The alula whale has a high, rounded forehead. Its dorsal fin is about 60 centimeters high. Mörzer Bruyns observed this whale in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean.
According to scientists, if the alula whale exists, it may be a subspecies of the killer whale Orcinus orca .
Greek dolphin
Another cetacean described by Mörzer Bruyns is the Greek right whale. This whale, observed several times in the Mediterranean by the researcher, resembles the striped dolphin, but lacks the characteristic dark stripe running from the underside of the tail to the eye, nor the pale gray spot under the dorsal fin. Numerous varieties of the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) are known , occurring in different regions of the world, so it is possible that the Greek right whale could be one of them.
Senegalese dolphin
Off the west coast of Africa, specifically near the coast of Senegal, Mörzer Bruyns stumbled upon another unknown dolphin. The Senegalese dolphin is a cetacean reaching a length of about 1.8 meters. It is brown on its back, while its lower body is noticeably paler. It is similar to the tropical dolphin (Stenella attenuata) , but lacks the characteristic spots.
Numerous varieties of the tropical dolphin (Stenella attenuata) are known to occur in various regions of the world. Zoologists also consider the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the spotted dolphin (Stenella frontalis) (both species found in the Atlantic). It is possible that the Senegalese dolphin may be a variety of one of these species.
Iligan's dolphin
The last whale described by Mörzer Bruyns is the Iligan dolphin (named after Iligan Bay in the Philippines, where the dolphin was sighted; some sources misspell "Illigan"). This dolphin reaches a body length of about 2.8 meters. It has a brown back, a pink underside, and a yellowish body. According to zoologists, if such a dolphin actually exists, it may be an entirely new species, as no dolphin with such colors is currently known.
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