Scientists Think They've Discovered a New Species of Beaked Whale 12 DECEMBER 2020 Scientists may have discovered a large-toothed mammal off the western coast of Mexico that they say looks and sounds unlike anything else on Earth. Researchers collected environmental genetic samples of this strange creature that are still being analysed, but the photographs and acoustic recordings have researchers "highly confident" it's a never-before-described species of beaked whale.
"We saw something new. Something that was not expected in this area, something that doesn't match, either visually or acoustically, anything that is known to exist," announced Jay Barlow, a marine mammal researcher who worked with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization, during the expedition.