r/Cetacea • u/IceFloeTurtle16 • 25d ago

What would an Orca X Bottlenose hybrid look like? realistically

What would a hypothetical Orca (Orcinus orca) X Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops) hybrid look like realistically speaking?

Ok so for context, I was browsing on DeviantArt and saw this cool speculative false orca x white-sided dolphin art (here it is for anyone curious https://www.deviantart.com/namu-the-orca/art/Speculative-dolphin-hybrid-1093179906) , and got me thinking of another hybrid I’ve thought about before from time to time and that is a mix between an orca and a bottlenose dolphin. I’ve been trying to make a design for what such a hybrid would look like and I tried drawing what one might look like in the past but could never really come up with a design that felt real if that makes sense, (and I’ve looked and no one else has attempted to make one so I have no reference, going completely off scratch here) so I’m asking you guys, to anyone whos an expert on cetaceans, someone who knows how genetics work or just someone who has experience in creature design give me some advice and or pointers on how I could blend anatomical features and colors and patterns of both animals in a way that feels plausible. I’ve tried looking at reconstructions of Orcinus citoniensis for some inspiration too since they kinda have features of both an orca and a more “typical” looking dolphin so maybe that’s somewhere in the right direction?

Also remember this is speculative so we are just going under the assumption that by some miracle the two species are compatible, so no replies going “erm well they can’t produce a hybrid” please, cause that’s not gonna help me in what I’m trying to do I’m not asking if they can I’m asking what the result would look like if they could

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u/IceFloeTurtle16 25d ago

ooh thank you! big help this is

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u/Adrian-SSB6 25d ago

Anytime and again I love to see it when you are done with the drawing you do!

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u/IceFloeTurtle16 25d ago

thx, and sure thing I can share it on the reddit and let you know whenever I get around to it (Heads up my artstyle isnt as realistic as Namu's) Oh also how do you think I should approach pigmentation?

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u/Adrian-SSB6 25d ago

Of course! As for pigmentation, it be like a dark Bottlenose similar to what you see in Namu's artwork with the eyepatch being muted or similar markings. It be like more T. gilli or Moray Firth Bottlenose than Orca imo but would need to see exactly how it goes.

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u/IceFloeTurtle16 25d ago

yeah that also makes sense. k thx!

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u/IceFloeTurtle16 17d ago

I did it (well, I did a sketch)