Marine mammal experts believe a whale that washed up on an Otago beach could be the rare spade-toothed variety, of which only six have ever been documented worldwide.
Department of Conservation staff were notified that a type of beaked whale roughly 5m long had washed ashore near Taiari Mouth on July 4.
Initial inspection by marine-mammal experts from the department and Te Papa identified the creature as a male spade-toothed whale – a species they said is so rare that next to nothing is known about them.
Department of Conservation Coastal Otago operations manager Gabe Davies said, if confirmed, this would be a very significant scientific find.
"Since the 1800s, only six samples have ever been documented worldwide, and all but one of these was from New Zealand. From a scientific and conservation point of view, this is huge."
The whale is currently in in cold storage to preserve the remains until the next steps have been decided, as a specimen this fresh offers the very first opportunity for a spade-toothed whale to be dissected.
Davies said the Conservation Department had been working in partnership with Te Rūnanga ō Ōtākou on these next steps, which Gabe said is a "conversation of international importance" given the rarity of the animal.
Te Rūnanga ō Ōtakou chair Nadia Wesley-Smith said it was important to ensure appropriate respect for this taoka (treasured possession in Māori culture) through the shared journey of learning and applying mātauraka Māori to the discovery of this rare species.
Genetic samples have been sent to the University of Auckland as curators of the New Zealand Cetacean Tissue Archive. It could take several weeks or months for the DNA to be processed and a final species identification to be confirmed.
First trace discovered in Chathams
The species was first described in 1874 from just a lower jaw and two teeth collected from Pitt Island, Rēkohu (Chatham Islands). That sample, along with skeletal remains of two other specimens found on Whakāri/White Island and Robinson Crusoe Island (Chile) enabled scientists to confirm a new species. Two more recent findings, in Bay of Plenty and north of Gisborne, helped describe the colour pattern of the species for the first time.
The whale has since been carefully removed from the beach by local contractor Trevor King Earthmoving, and local rūnaka members along with Otago Museum were also on site to support and document.
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