Scientists suspect the first complete specimen ever recorded of the world’s rarest whale died from head injuries, an expert said Friday.
The first examination of a spade-toothed whale, a type of beaked whale, was recently finished after a meticulous assessment at a research center close to Dunedin, a city in New Zealand. The local team leading the scientific initiative, Te Rūnanga Ōtākou, shared this information in a statement issued by the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
In July, a nearly intact 5-meter (16-foot) male spade-toothed whale was discovered on a beach in the South Island. This finding marked the first complete specimen of its kind ever documented. Until then, there had only been seven reported sightings, none of which were of a live spade-toothed whale.
Anton van Helden, an expert on beaked whales from the New Zealand conservation agency, highlighted that the broken jaw and injuries to the head and neck of the whale led researchers to speculate that head trauma might have been the cause of its demise.
In this photo provided by the New Zealand Department of Conservation, rangers inspect what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale on July 5, 2024, after it was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. (Department of Conservation via AP)
“We don’t know, but we suspect there must have been some sort of trauma, but what caused that could be anyone’s guess,” van Helden said in a statement.
All varieties of beaked whales have different stomach systems and researchers didn’t know how the spade-toothed type processed its food.
The scientific team found the specimen had nine stomach chambers containing remnants of squid and parasitic worms, the statement said.
Among the more interesting finds were tiny vestigial teeth in the upper jaw.
“These little teeth embedded in the gum tells us something about their evolutionary history. It’s remarkable to see this and it’s just another thing that we had no idea about,” van Helden said.
“It’s a week I’ll never forget in my life, it’s certainly a highlight and it’s the start of the storytelling around this beautiful animal,” van Helden added.
The dissection was also notable because scientists and curators worked together with local Māori people to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and customs into each step of the process.
Following the dissection, the local iwi, or tribe, will keep the jawbone and teeth of the whale before its skeleton is displayed in a museum. 3D printing will be used to replicate those parts retained by the iwi.
To Māori, whales are a taonga -– a precious treasure -– and the creature has been treated with the reverence afforded to an ancestor.
New Zealand is a whale-stranding hotspot, with more than 5,000 episodes recorded since 1840, according to the Department of Conservation.
The first spade-toothed whale bones were found in 1872 on New Zealand’s Pitt Island. Another discovery was made at an offshore island in the 1950s, and the bones of a third were found on Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island in 1986.
