“I immediately went, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s a spade-toothed whale!’” the senior marine science adviser for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) told CNN. The spade-toothed whale is the world’s rarest, only seven of its species have ever been recorded. Beaked whale expert Anton van Helden inspects a male spade-toothed whale ahead of a dissection at Invermay Agricultural Centre, Mosgiel, near Dunedin, New Zealand, on December 2, 2024. Derek Morrison/APSome of the world’s finest whale scientists, alongside members of the local Māori community, gathered last week in New Zealand to dissect the 16-foot, 3,000-pound, mammal — marking the first time anyone has ever seen inside a spade-toothed whale. The spade-toothed whale is a member of the beaked whale family, which gets its name for its “dolphin-like” snouts, according to the DOC.

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Persons: Anton van Helden, ”, It’s, Derek Morrison, Alexander Werth, Joy Reidenberg, Michael Denk, van Helden, they’ve, Tumai Cassidy, Te, ” Cassidy, “, Ōtākou, ” Kane Fleury, Helden Organizations: CNN, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation, Agricultural, AP, “, Tūhura Otago Museum Locations: Mosgiel, Dunedin , New Zealand, New Zealand, Pitt, Chile, Plenty, Gisborne