WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 It is the world\u2019s rarest whale, with only seven of its kind ever spotted. Almost nothing is known about the enigmatic species. But on Monday a small group of scientists and cultural experts in New Zealand clustered around a near-perfectly preserved spade-toothed whale hoping to decode decades of mystery. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how extraordinary it is,\u201d said a joyful Anton van Helden, senior marine science adviser for New Zealand\u2019s conservation agency, who gave the spade-toothed whale its name to distinguish it from other beaked species. \u201cFor me personally, it\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d Van Helden has studied beaked whales for 35 years, but Monday was the first time he has participated in a dissection of the spade-toothed variety. In fact, the careful study of the creature –… <\/p>\n
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) \u2014 It is the world\u2019s rarest whale, with only seven of its kind ever spotted. Almost nothing is known about the enigmatic species. But on Monday a small group of scientists and cultural experts in New Zealand clustered around a near-perfectly preserved spade-toothed whale hoping to decode decades of mystery. \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how extraordinary it is,\u201d said a joyful Anton van Helden, senior marine science adviser for New Zealand\u2019s conservation agency, who gave the spade-toothed whale its name to distinguish it from other beaked species. \u201cFor me personally, it\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d Van Helden has studied beaked whales for 35 years, but Monday was the first time he has participated in a dissection of the spade-toothed variety. In fact, the careful study of the creature —... <\/p>\n