The rarest whale in the world. Until today she was known only thanks to three partial skulls, the only elements available to have information about her in the last 140 years. But now it has been observed for the first time in flesh and blood, thanks to studies conducted on two specimens of Travers's mesoplodon (Mesoplodon traversii), a mother with her young, who were stranded on a New Zealand beach in 2010, where unfortunately they died.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
The rarest cetacean in the world. Until now it was known only thanks to three partial skulls, the only elements available to have information about her in the last 140 years. But now it was first observed in flesh and blood, thanks to studies conducted on two specimens of Travers's mesoplodon (Mesoplodon traversii), a mother with her young, got stranded on a New Zealand beach in 2010, where they unfortunately died.
The unfortunate family was initially confused with a more common species of whale, Gray's mesoplodon, but the discovery, published in Current Biology by the University of Auckland, revealed that it was actually two very rare specimens of Travers's mesoplodon. . Their true identity only came to light following the DNA analysis as part of a 13-year program that is collecting data on XNUMX species of beaked whales.
“The discovery represents the first proof that this cetacean is still among us and it serves to remind us how little we still know about life at sea, “explain the researchers. "It is the first time that this species, over five meters long, has been seen directly and we were lucky enough to have found two", reiterated the marine biologist of the University of Auckland. Rochelle Constantine, who added: “Up to now all we knew about this cetacean was given by three partial skulls, found in New Zealand and Chile, over 140 years. It is extraordinary that we know almost nothing about this large mammal".
And while it's now a little easier to spot its features, researchers still don't know why it's so rare to spot. “It may be, quite simply, that it is a species that lives in the open sea and dies in ocean waters deep and only rarely comes close to land ", concludes the Constantine from New Zealand, a land surrounded by vast oceans in which even today much marine life remains unknown to us.
Roberta Ragni
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