Wildlife & Railway Art - Frédérique Lucas

The little lads (+ friend)

Hey everybody. I've been down with the sickness as well as super busy with learning to drive trains, so a bit quiet again. But here’s some more friends from last year’s big commissions: a couple of little lads which I was glad to paint because a) they’re cute b) beautifully marked and c) for some reason I rarely get to paint them.

The Haviside’s dolphin has a funny story because it was actually misnamed. Captain Haviside first brought a specimen to the UK for study. The species was supposed to be named after him, but the zoologist studying the dolphin thought it was surgeon John Heaviside who’d brought it in (he did a lot of collecting too). Alas, scientific names may not be changed willy-nilly and so Captain Haviside remains forever miscredited. Common names, however, are flexible - hence my use of ‘Haviside’s dolphin’, even though ‘Heaviside’s’ is more common.

Commerson’s, our favourite oreo dolphin. There’s two subspecies: the South American which is black-and-white, and the Kerguelen, which is shown here and is more black-grey-white. I think they’re cool cause it shows there’s actually a colour pattern hidden in there. They also have serrated leading edges to their pectoral fins which is weird.

The Southern right whale dolphin is a bit shoe-horned in here (they’re not that little) courtesy of their bff relation with Dusky dolphins. For some reason the two species very often travel together and have even produced hybrid offspring.

• HYBRID DOLPHINS • - Species: Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) x Common dolphin (Delphinus sp.) - Parentage: unknown, possibly sire x dam - Status in the wild: probable | Status in captivity: X View the entire hybrid dolphin series

On the 21st of October, 2018, a very special dolphin was spotted in Monterey Bay, California. Although part of a larger mixed pod including Risso’s, Pacific white-sided and Common dolphins, it swum most closely with Northern right whale dolphins. But unlike its companions, this animal bore a small dorsal fin two-thirds of the way down its back and was an unusual warm grey colour with lighter accents. It would never be seen again. This brief encounter, and the few photographs that were taken, are all that is known of this putative hybrid. The V-shaped dip beneath the dorsal fin, subtle criss-cross pattern and slender snout indicate a Common dolphin as the most probable other parent. Since the animal swum amongst Northern right whale dolphins, they may be the mother species but this can’t be confirmed. This is the third and final right whale dolphin hybrid currently known.

The photos only show the animal surfacing. Luckily he poked his face out over the waves, but otherwise only the upper 1/3 of the animal is visible. Which means colouration for the pectoral fins, flukes, and the largest part of the belly, flank and peduncle had to be an educated guess. It was a bit of a toss up on how Delphinus-y to make the colouration. It was clear from the photos that no white reached the V-shaped dip so I went for a rather subtle criss-cross pattern but couldn’t resist adding a nice genital stripe. It may all prove to be too distinct. Kate Cumming and Marilia Olio, who both saw this dolphin in person, were kind enough to talk to me about their sighting and give some pointers about the illustration. 

• REFERENCES • - Photographs by Kate Cummings, Blue Ocean Whale Watch  - K. Cumming & M. Olio, personal communication

DOLPHINS OF A DIFFERENT COLOUR 2 Part 1 is here. A small addition to the ‘Dolphins of a different colour‘ series. This time a pair of species that mirror each other across the hemispheres. Watercolour on hot-pressed paper, 14.8 x 21 cm.

• the ‘northern’ southern right whale dolphin • Lissodelphis peronii - Both right whale dolphins posses a most striking black-and-white colouration: but whereas the northern right whale dolphin goes in for mostly black and some white, the southern is mostly white with some black. At least usually. There exist many sightings of oddities: all and partial white individuals, white spots, greys and dappled grey instead of black. Sadly none seem to have been recorded in photographs - none except these all black animals. In New Zealand a group was spotted with no less than four odd dolphin, including one mother-calf pair. Like the dusky dolphin of before these dolphin are melanistic: an exces of melanin is produced, obscuring the normal colouration pattern. Unfortunately due to the poor sighting quality it is unknown whether these dolphins are truly yet black, or more of a deep ebony like the dusky dolphin.

• the ‘southern’ northern right whale dolphin • Lissodelphis borealis - Northern right whale dolphins are a bit more conservative in their strangeness. There is only one anomalous colouration pattern, seen with some regularity all across the species’ range, which is more or less the same in all individuals. Dubbed ‘swirled’, these animals appear to possess some form of leucism whereby the white markings are extended beyond their normal reach. The face and throat in particular are substantially stained, the belly marking reaches higher up the flanks and the pectoral fins are often more light than dark. On some individuals, faint outlines of the regular colouration can still be seen, which I have illustrated here.

• HYBRID DOLPHINS • - Species: Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) x Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) - Parentage: unknown, possibly dam x sire - Status in the wild: probable | Status in captivity: X View the entire hybrid dolphin series

Every once in a while southern right whale dolphins grace whale-watchers with their presence. And, swimming alongside them, is usually another species: the dusky dolphin. Duskies often go alone, but rarely do the right whale dolphins appear without their finned friends. Curiously, both species find their mirrors on the opposite hemisphere. Here swim the northern right whale dolphin (Lisso) and Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lag), which not only look similar but are just as close-knit. All that socialising down south gave us our previous hybrid. And it seems the same has happened up north.

Although never ‘publicly’ observed (let alone scientifically described) there have been sightings of apparent hybrids in the Pacific. They were described as essentially a Lisso, except for that tell-tale mini dorsal fin in black and grey. Sadly I have not seen photos myself, but I spoke to people who have. They are secondhand accounts though and differ slightly: one said the hybrid had noticeably bigger pectoral fins and snout like a Lag, while the other said it looked like a Lisso spare the dorsal fin. These descriptions were invaluable, yet granted few solid details. As such the entire illustration should be labeled an ‘educated guess’. The true appearance of this hybrid is unknown.

However, known right whale dolphin hybrids offered some clues. The dorsal fin was a give-away: the colouring borrowed from Lags, with the reduced shape and size seen in the other hybrids. Due to this one being described as “looking like a Lisso, except-” I chose a very slim body shape, less influenced by the Lag. Interesting to note is that southern Lissos are a lot sturdier than their northern counterparts, especially in the face, and it shows in the hybrids too! Most of all I debated the colour of the throat. How much influence would the Lag’s white have on the Lisso’s steady black? Neither of my sources mentioned it - but it would be easy to miss in a fleeting encounter. In the end a fellow hybrid made me opt for an entirely off-white throat, with an extra white patch for the Lisso’s chin patch. Add some light facial markings and we get something that clearly has Lag influenced beak and pectoral fins, but which could also easily be mistaken for a normal Lisso when seen in a pod - spare that dorsal fin. It’s funny, creating illustrations like this. All the choices made are logically sound, and yet there is still a good chance the actual hybrid does not look like this at all. Maybe one day another one will be seen and we can all marvel at the photographs. Until then, this is my best guess.

• REFERENCES • - A. Janiger and T. Pusser, personal communication

• HYBRID DOLPHINS • - Species: Southern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis peronii) x Dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) - Parentage: unknown, possibly sire x dam - Status in the wild: very likely | Status in captivity: X View the entire hybrid dolphin series

It seemed only fair that the first official illustration should be of the hybrid that started it all. This most charismatic of hybrids, the dolphin that shouldn’t have a dorsal fin - and yet does. It’s one of the few wild hybrids to be described in scientific literature but has also been observed by private individuals, most notably whale-watchers off Kaikoura, New Zealand. Since no DNA tests have been done their status is not certain. But the strong known association between the presumed parent species, and the intermediate features make the hybrid ‘very likely’. Hybrids have been seen in mixed species groups as well as the sole company of Dusky dolphins, making this the possible maternal parent species.

I find the right whale dolphin hybrid especially interesting because they combine a very stark black-and-white pattern with more subtle markings. Without photographs it would be hard to guess what colouration would dominate. As it turns out: Lissodelphis does. The Lagenorhynchus side of the arrangement is only found in the faint hint of a blaze on the flank, a dark marking on the beak, the separate eyespot, the faint grey on the shoulder, and of course that two-toned dorsal fin, albeit diminished in size and shape from the original. Note also the pectoral fins which have a most interesting shape. Lissodelphis have very unusual, elongated sickle-shaped pectorals and although somewhat normalised, the shape is still clearly present in the hybrid.

Multiple existing photographs, albeit of varying quality, make this one of the better documented wild hybrids. Very little guesswork was undertaken in the creation of this illustration, mostly with the colouration of the flukes.

• REFERENCES • - Yadzi, P. (2002). A possible hybrid between the dusky dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) and the southern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis peronii). Aquatic Mammals, 28(2), 211-217. - Benegas, R. J., Orri, R. D., Pettite, L., Castello, H. P. 2000. Sighting and video recording of a possible hybrid dolphin between Lagenorhynchus obscurus and Lissodelphis peronii at Golfo Nuevo, Pla. Valdés, Chubut, Argentina. Abstracts of the 7th International American Cetacean Society Meeting, (Monterey). - Several photographs taken by private individuals.

HYBRID ODONTOCETES POSTER Now here’s a project I have been working on for literal years. I’ve never had much to show for it though (except for a little teaser last year), as work had mostly been little and far between. But after completion of the sketches last year, I’ve now picked it up in earnest. And with the first two illustrations complete and a third in the works, I found it high time to formally introduce the project.

You may know I have a thing for odd dolphins. And way back in 2011 I saw a photo of a very odd dolphin indeed: a presumed hybrid between a Southern right whale dolphin and a Dusky dolphin. It sparked my imagination and the interest never left. I started collecting data on hybrids and eventually the idea for a poster was formed. Please laugh along at the first concept for it - and the stunningly detailed sketches lol. I can reassure you the layout and quality has changed considerably since then. 

Due to the vast difference in size and very low number of known hybrids, baleen whales are not included, leaving only the Odontoceti or toothed whales. At the moment no less than 30 hybrids occupy the poster, with 2 more potentially being added. With some 38 species of regular dolphins, that’s quite a number indeed. Instead of waiting years before I can slap the whole poster online, I will upload each hybrid individually as I finish its illustration. That way they each get their deserved moment in the spotlight, because I believe all of them are (scientifically) immensely interesting. The first will soon be uploaded. But for now have a look at the first hybrid I ever painted: that fateful Southern right whale dolphin x Dusky dolphin, from 2012.