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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
5 blustery cartoons about the Stormy Daniels testimony
Cartoons Artists take on gag orders, lurid details, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Idea of You review: 'impossible escapism' starring Anne Hathaway
The Week Recommends Steamy romcom about a 40-year-old who falls for a boy band singer
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: May 11, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published