r*******r
发帖数: 259 | 1 The world's rarest whale has been spotted for the first time, in New Zealand
, where two of the whales stranded themselves.
The two spade-toothed beaked whales, a mother and calf, stranded and died on
Opape Beach on the North Island of New Zealand, in December 2010. The
mother was 17 feet (5.3 meters) long and the calf was 11 feet (3.5 m) long.
A report describing the whales and the analysis of their DNA appears in the
Nov. 6 issue of the journal Current Biology.
"Up until now, all we have known about the spade-toothed beaked whale was
from three partial skulls collected from New Zealand and Chile over a 140-
year period. It is remarkable that we know almost nothing about such a large
mammal," Rochelle Constantine, a marine biologist at the University of
Auckland in New Zealand, said in a statement. "This is the first time this
species has ever been seen as a complete specimen, and we were lucky enough
to find two of them."
At first, the animals were thought to be much more common Gray's beaked
whales. Their identity came to light following routine DNA analysis, which
was done as part of a 20-year program to collect data on beaked whale
species in New Zealand waters. New Zealand is a known hotspot for whale
stranding, and it has the highest rates and greatest diversities of stranded
whale species in the world, the researchers report.
The New Zealand Department of Conservation photographed the animals and
collected tissue samples.
"When these specimens came to our lab, we extracted the DNA as we usually do
for samples like these, and we were very surprised to find that they were
spade-toothed beaked whales," Constantine said. "We ran the samples a few
times to make sure before we told everyone."
The researchers said they have no idea why the whales have remained so
elusive.
"It may be that they are simply an offshore species that lives and dies in
the deep ocean waters and only rarely wash[es] ashore," Constantine said.
Follow OurAmazingPlanet on Twitter @OAPlanet. We're also on Facebook and
Google+.
•In Photos: Tracking Humpback Whales
•Gallery: Creatures from the Census of Marine Life
•Marine Marvels: Spectacular Photos of Sea Creatures
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reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed..
http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Ttb4nEzn2Owmdy1.34EFDQ--/YXBwa
http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Ev62k90kKRJVhWyq_a2kGA--/YXBw |
r*******r
发帖数: 259 | |
I***i
发帖数: 14557 | |
f*****e
发帖数: 276 | |
i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | |
y**u
发帖数: 7459 | 6 这个是whale啊，嘴巴像海豚
【在 f*****e 的大作中提到】
: 只好用附件了
|
r*****e
发帖数: 250 | 7 英语读着费劲，第一次见到实物，确实是件大事。
【在 i*****s 的大作中提到】
: 哇，这是个大事件。
|
r*****e
发帖数: 250 | 8 英语读着费劲，第一次见到实物，确实是件大事。
【在 i*****s 的大作中提到】
: 哇，这是个大事件。
|
b******k
发帖数: 1136 | 9 在Monterey出海见过一小群 Baird's beaked whale (另一种 beaked whale)
头嘴是挺像海豚，身子还是鲸吧
【在 y**u 的大作中提到】
: 这个是whale啊，嘴巴像海豚
|
I***i
发帖数: 14557 | |
|
|
i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | 11 这个经历不一般那，赞。
【在 b******k 的大作中提到】
: 在Monterey出海见过一小群 Baird's beaked whale (另一种 beaked whale)
: 头嘴是挺像海豚，身子还是鲸吧
|
i*****s
发帖数: 15215 | |
r*****e
发帖数: 250 | 13 厉害啊
【在 b******k 的大作中提到】
: 在Monterey出海见过一小群 Baird's beaked whale (另一种 beaked whale)
: 头嘴是挺像海豚，身子还是鲸吧
|
r*****e
发帖数: 250 | |
r*******r
发帖数: 259 | |
