One of Earth’s most elusive whales washes up on New Zealand shore
Scientists hope the beaching of an extremely rare spadetooth whale will help them learn more about this elusive species.
Jim Fyfe and Tumai Cassidy walk alongside a rare male spade-tooth whale being relocated by Trevor King.
When the 16-foot-long carcass of one of the most elusive marine mammals on Earth, a sea slug, washed up on a beach in New Zealand’s Otago region, scientists rushed to lay their eyes on the monster.
First identified in 1874, this tenacious, reclusive species has never been seen alive and is little known to science. Before the recent stranding was reported to local authorities on July 4, scientists had documented just six specimens of the species, according to New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC).
The new whale “is a truly remarkable specimen,” says Emma Carroll, a molecular ecologist who has studied marine mammals at the University of Auckland in New Zealand for more than a decade. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event to find one in such good condition.”
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No one had ever reported seeing an entire leafhopper, alive or dead, until 2010, when a dead female and baby washed up on a beach in northern New Zealand.
“Nobody had ever seen this species in such a fleshy state before,” said Anton van Helden, scientific adviser to DOC’s marine life team.
The specimen, discovered this month, was carefully removed from the beach using an excavator provided by a local contractor and then transported to a facility in Otago where it was frozen and stored. DOC is now planning what scientific analysis can be carried out in collaboration with local Maori people, New Zealand’s indigenous people who consider the whale to be of spiritual and cultural importance.
If the specimen is approved for study, van Helden says, scientists will have completed the first complete anatomical description of this species. “A slow dissection will not only allow us to describe the organs and major muscle groups, but also to weigh the organs and examine the stomach contents to get information about its diet,” he adds. “All of this is new to science.”
This explanation may help marine mammal scientists estimate how many of these whales may still be alive today. Researchers don’t have a clear reference for the whale’s physical characteristics or coloration, so they didn’t know what to look for. This may explain why no living specimens have been seen until now.
The whales’ apparent remoteness of their habitat may be another factor: “Toothed whales generally prefer deeper waters away from the continental shelf,” van Helden says, suggesting that they may be spending most of their time at depths rarely explored by humans.
Genetic analysis of the new leafhopper specimens may reveal some secrets. “If we could get a piece of tissue from this whale, we could learn a lot,” Carroll says. Traces of chemicals absorbed from the whale’s food could also help researchers determine where the leafhopper fits in the marine food web, a network of interconnected food chains throughout an ecosystem.
Van Helden said further investigation may help researchers determine why the whale beached itself – possibly due to age, illness or injury.
Even though little is known about the deep ocean and the species that live there, including the gnats, potentially harmful activities like deep-sea mining are still being considered. “This may be the richest habitat that’s still untouched by humans,” Carroll says. “We don’t know much about these whales and their ecosystems, but people are already talking about how to exploit them without really understanding the ecosystem, the environment. I think we need to know more before we do that.”
