Scientists discover a new species of whale

A new species of whale has been discovered.

(Image credit: JUAN MABROMATA/AFP/Getty Images)

published 5 August 2016

Scientists have discovered a new species of whale that has somehow remained incognito for the past 50 million years. The whale, informally named Karasu, has been the Bigfoot of the sea since a crew of Japanese whalers in the Nemuro Strait 70 years ago reported a fleet of whales that resembled smaller, darker versions of Baird's whale — hence the name Karasu, which translates to "raven" in Japanese.

The whale resurfaced (literally) last June on a beach on the Pribilof Islands in Alaska's Bering Sea. A local biologist spotted the remains and called in a team of experts who handed it over to Phillip Morin and his team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Southwest Fisheries' Science Center.

"We don't know how many there are, where they're typically found, anything," Morin told National Geographic. The scientists compared the whale's DNA to 178 other species and after a year of work, realized they had discovered an entirely new species. Karasu will now be subject to extreme stalking by ocean nerds, as they attempt to learn more about its mysterious existence.