display
Whales and dolphins are known for their unique songs.
But the sounds that researchers from the US conservation organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society recorded off the west coast of Mexico in 2018 somehow did not match any of these marine mammals.
The scientists initially attributed the calls to Perrin-beaked whales.
A specimen of this species had never been seen alive.
In fact, researchers weren't able to
identify
Mesoplodon perrini
as a distinct species until five carcasses washed up on California beaches between 1975 and 1997.
In November of this year, a Sea Shepard expedition went back to search for the source of the unusual BW43 sounds.
Suddenly, around 160 kilometers north of the Mexican island group of San Benito, three whales were swimming next to the research vessel.
Source: WORLD infographic
We had seen something new.
Something we didn't expect in this region.
Something that neither visually nor acoustically matched something familiar.
Jay Barlow, marine researcher with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
display
The marine biologists filmed the animals, recorded their chants, and took tissue samples.
Even if the final results of the DNA examinations are still pending, the researchers are certain:
The animals are a previously unknown species of beaked whale.
Source: Simon Ager / Sea Shepherd
"It gives me chills when I think about the fact that we have achieved what most people think is impossible: to discover a large mammal on this earth that is completely unknown to science," said Jay Barlow, describing the discovery in a press release.
So far, the new beaked whale species has no name
Source: Simon Ager / Sea Shepherd
The images of the sea creatures showed that their teeth are arranged differently than those of previously known beaked whales.
In addition, according to the researchers, their calls sound different compared to those of their cousins.
The discovery of the new species of beaked whale shows how many mysteries remain to be solved in the oceans.
Peter Hammarstedt, Sea Shepherd campaign manager
display
Although there are 23 species of beaked whales, making them the most biodiverse family of whales after the dolphins, very little is known about them.
In fact, they are among the least explored mammals in the world.
This is mainly due to the fact that these sea creatures mainly dive at a depth of around 1000 meters and we therefore hardly ever see them.
One specimen even showed extremely long breath:
Most of the known species of beaked whale have never been seen alive.
In addition, so far only a handful have been scientifically described using carcasses, such as the species
Berardius bairdii
and
Berardius arnuxii
, which researchers only found in 2019.