Scientist discover new whale species

Post created on 9:40 am

Possibly a new species of Beaked whale

Scientist on the Coast of Baja California, Mexico has found an unknown species of whale.

According to a press release, Scientists working with Sea Shephard Conservation Society spotted the three beaked whales.

The team initially set out to discover the type of whale releasing a previously recorded acoustic signal in the area thinking it had come from a Perrin’s beaked whale.

According to the team, each whale species emits a unique acoustic signal underwater and this sound has never been recorded before, plus initial analysis of the whales’ physical characteristics suggests this is a new species.

Researchers Jay Barlow, Elizabeth Henderson and Gustavo Cárdenas Hinojosa are “highly confident” that the animals are a new species.

Speaking, Jay Balow said “We saw something new. Something that was not expected in this area, something that doesn’t match, either visually or acoustically, anything that is known to exist.

“We reviewed the data, all the photographs, the underwater images, the acoustic data that we collected from the vicinity of the animal, it became clear we didn’t see Perrin’s beaked whale, we saw something new. This is like searching for the  last mastodon that’s still somehow in a valley somewhere on this planet and then finding a unicorn instead.

“It just sends chills up and down my spine when I think that we might have accomplished what most people would say was truly impossible — finding a large mammal that exists on this earth that is totally unknown to science.

The Director of Campaigns for Sea Shepherd, Peter Hammarstedt said “The discovery of a new species of beaked whale proves how much mystery there is left to discover in the oceans that our captains, crews, and research partners fight to defend.