World’s rarest whale washes up on New Zealand beach

The body of a spade-toothed whale -- a species so rare it has never been seen alive -- appears to have washed up on a New Zealand beach, scientists said.

The remains of the obscure, five-metre long, beaked creature were found near a river mouth in southern Otago province on July 4, government researchers said.

It was identified by experts from New Zealand's Department of Conservation and the national museum, Te Papa, as a male spade-toothed whale. A DNA investigation has been launched to confirm its classification.

"Spade-toothed whales are one of the most poorly known large mammalian species of modern times," said the conservation department's coastal Otago operations manager, Gabe Davies.