Researchers believed that they have found a new species of beaked whale off Mexico's western Pacific coast, a U.S. marine mammal biologist told media recently.
Jay Barlow, a retired adjunct professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, said their team spotted three unusual specimens on Nov. 17 near Mexico's remote San Benito Islands, about 500 km south of the U.S. border.
The beaked whales look and sound different from the approximately 23 other known species, according to the professor.
The team was sailing in the sea in mid-November, in hopes of identifying the source of an unidentified acoustic signal, when they came upon the new beaked whales who actually swam up near their ship, Barlow said.
The researchers have taken samples in the waters to try to determine whether it is a new species.
Beaked whales, which are smaller than many other whales, have a sort of beaked, dolphin-like nose. Their habits are little known as they dive to great depths.
