 It is now thought to me more closely related to the pygmy beaked whale ("Mesoplodon peruvianus"), which was only itself described in 1991.In 2000, DNA testing confirmed the theory that there are three species of right whale, as the North Pacific right whale ("Eubalaena japonica") is a distinct species from the North Atlantic right whale ("E.glacialis)".Strictly speaking, this is not a newly discovered species, but simply an alternative taxonomic treatment, as "japonica" already was widely recognized, but "only" as a subspecies.