Researchers 'cautiously optimistic' they've found a new whale species off Mexico

While on the lookout for beaked whales, researchers may have discovered an entirely new species of the animal.

Last month, the team, led by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, was tracking beaked whales near Mexico's San Benito Islands, when suddenly "these animals popped to the surface right next to the boat," Jay Barlow, a marine mammal biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, told Reuters. "It was just a phenomenal encounter. It's very rare to see even a beaked whale, and to find a friendly group of beaked whales, it's even rarer."

The researchers took several pictures of the whales and recorded their acoustic signals, and found that their teeth were unusually placed and their calls were different from other beaked whales. The team also took water samples, which are now being analyzed to see if there are skin cells that can be tested, confirming whether the whales are a new species.

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There are now 23 known beaked whale species, and Barlow is "cautiously optimistic" that there will soon be 24. "It is a huge animal, the weight of a Clydesdale horse," he said. "Imagine something that big in the terrestrial realm going undiscovered. But there's a lot of mysteries in the sea." Catherine Garcia