Through a collaboration between the National Museum of Nature and Science, the University of Hokkaido, the University of Iwate, and the United States National Museum of Natural History, scientists have just named a new species of cetacean, a beaked whale nicknamed Kurotsuchikujira. or black whale ( Berardius minimus), which has long been postulated by local whalers in Hokkaido (Japan). They have turned out to be not just legends.
For years, Japanese whalers have described a rare type of beaked whale unique to the waters of the North Pacific. Nicknamed Kurotsuchikujira , the small-bodied black cetacean has long eluded researchers, but a new analysis of previously deceased specimens has found that Kurotsuchikujira does indeed confirm its own species .
Preferring deep oceans with a diving capacity of almost 3,000 meters, beaked whales are especially difficult to see, making them one of the most difficult species of whale to study.
In the North Pacific and its adjacent waters, there are two species of Berardius, the slate-gray Baird’s beaked whale ( Berardius bairdii ) or Baird’s berardio and the recently described black whale or Berardius minimus, named for its particularly small size.
Describing B. minimus for the first time in scientific reports, the researchers captured four deceased whales – three from Hokkaido, Japan and one from Unalaska, Alaska, in 1943 and kept in the collection of the US National Museum of Natural History. .. The four whales “differed from their peers” in morphology (body shape), osteology (skeletal structure), and characteristics of molecular phylogeny (physical or genetic).
“Just looking at them, we could tell that they have a noticeably smaller body size, a more spindle-shaped body, a shorter bill, and a darker color compared to known Berardius species ,” commented Tadasu K. Yamada, leader of the study, in a statement.
Although whalers characterizeB. youngestas black in color, the authors note that the color differences between the two whales are mainly due to thescar tissue. Instead, they looked at the relatively small body size of the new whales, which are just over 6 meters instead of 10 meters in height.B. bairdii. In addition, alsoit has a distinctively shorter bill and other notable differences in skull and skeletal composition. Additional DNA analysis indicated similarities identified only in the Hokkaido and Unalaska individuals. But what is known about them ends here.
“There are still a lot of things we don’t know aboutB. youngest“said researcher Takashi F. Matsuishi.” We still don’t know what adult females look like, andthere are still many questions related to the distribution of species, for example. We look forward to continuing to expand what we know aboutB. youngest“.
The whales in this part of the world are sometimes referred to asKarasu or raven. Researchers say they are not sure if Karasu and Kurotsuchikujira are the same speciesor, in fact, they also represent a third new species.We’re sure we’ll find out soon.
Referencia: Tadasu K. Yamada, Shino Kitamura, Syuiti Abe, Yuko Tajima, Ayaka Matsuda, James G. Mead, Takashi F. Matsuishi. Description of a new species of beaked whale (Berardius) found in the North Pacific. Scientific Reports, 2019; 9 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46703-w
