Unique whale songs recorded by scientists in the Antarctic hint at the possibility of a new whale species.
Scientists acknowledge that the songs may be from a known species of beaked whale, but their unique structure leaves open the
possibility of a new species, the BBC reported.
There are 22 known species of beaked whales, with the latest, Deraniyagala’s beaked whale, being confirmed last year.
The elusive animal family spends little time at the surface.
A team of scientists from the United States and Argentina recorded the song, referred to as the Antarctic BW29, more than 1,000 times near the South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, and Antarctic Peninsula, the BBC said. A second unique song, dubbed Antarctic BW37, also was recorded.
The researchers, led by Jennifer Trickey of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California in La Jolla, California,
published a report in the Journal of Marine Mammal Science.
“Given that new species of beaked whale are still being discovered, the source of these Antarctic signals might be a species that has yet to be identified,” the study says.
The song also could belong to a strap-toothed whale, a southern bottlenosed whale, or a Gray’s beaked whale, with the the
southern bottlenosed whale as the most likely match, The Daily Mail reported.
Twitter users commented about the discovery.
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