2024-07-23 07:49:55
Wellington: The carcass of a rare fish has been found on the beach of New Zealand. Scientists say it may be the rarest whale in the world. It is a spade-toothed whale, a type of beaked whale. It is named after its teeth, which resemble the shape of a spade. Most of the information about their existence is based on a series of bones and tissues discovered over the decades and later sequenced, which shows a new shared DNA. This is a fish of such depth that it has never been seen alive by people. Only six specimens have been documented since the 1800s. Experts are now trying to find out whether the 5-meter-long fish is a rare whale or not. If so, this will be the first time scientists will dissect it. This can give scientists unprecedented information. Hannah Hendrix, technical advisor to the New Zealand Department of Conservation (DOC), said, ‘This whale species is extremely rare. ‘So this opportunity may allow us to learn more information about how and where the animal lived and what it ate.’
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The department said, ‘If we are able to learn more about these aspects, we will also be able to know whether the species is endangered and what threats it may face.’ DOC announced that it had received a report of a whale carcass found near Taiari Mouth, a small village on the east coast of the South Island, on July 4. Experts inspected the carcass, after which scientists believed that the carcass was of a male spade-toothed whale. However, other tests are needed to confirm this.
Fish kept in cold storage
DOC Coastal Otago Operations Manager Gabe Davis said, ‘This is huge from a scientific and conservation point of view. It is sad that the fish is not alive and we could not study it in a live state, but the best thing is that the specimen is very fresh. ‘ The whale is currently kept in cold storage. Meanwhile genetic samples have been sent to the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Collection at the University of Auckland. However, its analysis may take months.