A research group at the National Museum of Nature and Science and Hokkaido University has confirmed the existence of a new species of whale, "Sato's beakle".
It has been said that some whalers in Hokkaido have something called "Kurotsuchi" or "Crow", which is darker and smaller than the usual "Berardius", but its identity is scientifically clear so far. It wasn't.
This time, as a result of survey and analysis of individuals collected by the drifting whale research group "Stranding Network Hokkaido" (SNH) sponsored by Professor Takashi Matsuishi of Hokkaido University, the existence of previously unrecognized species has been clarified. rice field.Previously, the researchers analyzed stranded individuals that are characterized by the genus Berardius, but whose external morphology is different from that of the previously known Berardius.Clear differences were identified in both known Berardius and Berardius DNA sequences, highlighting the possible existence of an unknown species of the genus Berardius.
In order to describe this unknown species as a new species, it is necessary to understand its morphological characteristics and clarify the relationship with two known species of the genus Berardius (Berardius and Berardius) by comprehensive analysis.Therefore, in this study, we used a whole-body skeletal specimen as a whole-body skeleton specimen, grasped the morphological characteristics and performed multivariate analysis of the measurement results, and further examined the Berardius specimens held in the US Natural History Museum, British Natural History Museum, etc. , Comparison and examination were conducted.
As a result, it was shown that the unknown species are morphologically different from those of the Berardius and Berardius, such as the significantly shorter body length and the distinctly different skull morphology from the known species.Molecular phylogenetic analysis of genetic information also confirmed that significant differences were observed between unknown and known species.Taken together, we have come to the conclusion that this unknown cetacean should be added to the world's whales as an independent species.
This species is named Berardius minimus, Japanese name Sato's beakle, and the English name is said to be decided from now on.
Paper information:[Scientific Reports] Description of a new species of beaked whale (Berardius) found in the North Pacific
