Scientists dissect ‘world’s rarest whale’ for clues on little-known species

Only seven spade-tooth whales have ever been documented, now work is beginning on a specimen that washed ashore in New Zealand in July

A spade-tooth whale - thought to be the world's rarest whale species - is undergoing dissection in New Zealand, in the first ever examination of a complete specimen.

Spade-toothed whales are a type of beaked whale named for their teeth resembling the spade-like flensing" blade once used to strip whales of their blubber. Just seven have been documented since the 1800s, with all but one found in New Zealand.