What could be the world’s rarest type of whale has washed up on a beach in New Zealand.
The Department of Conservation (DOC) were notified when a type of beaked whale measuring at five-metres long washed ashore near Taiari Mouth.
Upon inspection and consultation with experts, they now believe the mammal was a male spade-toothed whale – a species so rare, they have reportedly never been seen alive.
Gabe Davies, DOC Coastal Otago Operations Manager, said: ‘Spade-toothed whales are one of the most poorly known large mammalian species of modern times.
‘Since the 1800s, only six samples have ever been documented worldwide, and all but one of these was from New Zealand. From a scientific and conservation point of view, this is huge.’
DOC has been working in partnership with Local council Te Rūnanga ō Ōtakou on next steps to make a plan for the whale’s remains that is in line with Maori tradition.
A specimen this fresh offers the first opportunity ever for a spade-toothed whale to be dissected.
The rarity of the whale means conversations around what to do next will take more time because it is a conversation of international importance, according to the DOC.
Genetic samples have been sent to the University of Auckland as curators of the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Archive.
It may take several weeks or months for the DNA to be processed and a final species ID to be confirmed.
The species was first described in 1874 from just a lower jaw and two teeth collected from Pitt Island/Rangiauria (Chatham Islands).
That sample, along with skeletal remains of two other specimens found on Whak*ri/White Island and Robinson Crusoe Island (Chile), enabled scientists to confirm a new species.
Two more recent findings, in Bay of Plenty and north of Gisborne, helped describe the colour pattern of the species for the first time.
The whale has since been carefully removed from the beach and is in cold storage until the next steps are decided.
Little is known about the spade-toothed whale, and it is classified as ‘data deficient’ in the New Zealand Threat Classification System.
The first intact specimen was from a mother/calf stranding in Bay of Plenty in 2010.
A further stranding in 2017 in Gisborne added one more specimen to the collection.
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