A very rare beaked whale was found washed ashore on an island in the Bering Sea. After an extensive search through tissue samples at the museums, it was discovered that that cetacean was a completely new species.
In 2014, the animal's carcass ended up washed on the shores of St. George Island, one of the Pribilof Islands in the rugged Bering Sea. It appeared to be similar to a Baird's beaked whale, but smaller and had darker skin than the more common cetacean.
DNAs of nearly 180 beaked whales discovered around the Pacific Rim were inspected by Philip Morin, a molecular biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center. He discovered that among seven other animals were members of a new unnamed species, a species which the Japanese call "karasu" -- the Japanese word for "raven."
Beaked whales are one of the ocean's most rare and mysterious creatures. They have beaks which looks a lot like that of dolphin's but are known to be deep divers and often descending thousands of feet to feed.
An early study from Japanese researchers suggested that the whales might be their own species.
Morin found two samples at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center's marine mammal tissue collection which appeared to come from the new species. He also sought out samples from the Smithsonian Institute, the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History and even from Japanese markets where whale meat is sold.
In 2004, a dead whale washed ashore on the Aleutian Island, the skeleton from which hangs in an Alaskan high school.
The whales were thought to range between the northern island of Japan and the Aleutian Island. Some of the animals had bite marks that could only come from tropical sharks which means that they likely migrate at some point of their lives.
Source: The Oregonian
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