World's rarest whale seen for the first time A whale that is
almost unknown to science has been seen for the first time after
two individuals -- a mother and her male calf -- were stranded
and died on a New Zealand beach. A report in the November 6th
issue of Current Biology offers the first complete description
of the spade-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon traversii), a
species previously known only from a few bones. The discovery is
the first evidence that this whale is still with us and serves
as a reminder of just how little we still know about life in the
ocean, the researchers say. The findings also highlight the
importance of DNA typing and reference collections for the
identification of rare species. "This is the first time this
species -- a whale over five meters in length -- has ever been
seen as a complete specimen, and we were lucky enough to find
two of them," says Rochelle Constantine of the University of
Auckland. "Up until now, all we have known about the spade-
toothed beaked whale was from th