Scientists suspect the first complete specimen ever recorded of the world’s rarest whale died from head injuries, an expert said Friday.

Scientists in New Zealand began dissecting a rare spade-toothed whale on Monday. AP Photo/Derek Morrison Van Helden has studied beaked whales for 35 years, but Monday was the first time he has ...

Scientists and culture experts in New Zealand have begun the first-ever dissection of a spade-toothed whale, the world's rarest whale species ...

The spade-toothed whale is part of the beaked whale family and is considered the rarest whale in the world. Previously, it had only been seen by humans on six occasions-always dead and never under ...

Scientists and culture experts in New Zealand have begun the first ever dissection of a spade-toothed whale, the world's rarest whale species.

Scientists suspect the first complete specimen ever recorded of the world’s rarest whale died from head injuries, an expert said Friday. The first dissection of a spade-toothed whale, a type of ...

Scientists and culture experts in New Zealand have begun the first-ever dissection of a spade-toothed whale, the world's rarest whale species.

“For me personally, it’s unbelievable.” Van Helden has studied beaked whales for 35 years, but Monday was the first time he has participated in a dissection of the spade-toothed variety.

A group of scientists and cultural experts in New Zealand are examining a near-perfectly preserved spade-toothed whale hoping to decode decades of mystery.

All beaked whales have different stomach systems and researchers don’t know how the spade-toothed kind processes its food. They don’t know how this one died.

DNA sequencing in 2002 proved that all three specimens were of the same species — and that it was distinct from other beaked whales. But researchers studying the mammal couldn’t confirm whether the ...

Beaked whale expert Anton van Helden inspects a male spade-toothed whale ahead of a dissection at Invermay Agricultural Centre, Mosgiel, near Dunedin, New Zealand, Monday, Dec. 2, 2024 (AP Photo ...