Only seven spade-tooth whales have ever been documented, now work is beginning on a specimen that washed ashore in New Zealand in July
A spade-tooth whale – thought to be the world’s rarest whale species – is undergoing dissection in New Zealand, in the first ever examination of a complete specimen.
Spade-toothed whales are a type of beaked whale named for their teeth resembling the spade-like “flensing” blade once used to strip whales of their blubber. Just seven have been documented since the 1800s, with all but one found in New Zealand.
