A new species of whale has been discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, but scientists warn that the animal is in critical danger.
The newly identified species of blue whale have been christened the “rice whale” in honor of American biologist Dale Rice, who was the first to recognize the mammal.
Investigators from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) previously thought the whales were a subspecies of the Bryde whale, but the agency announced that it was actually a completely new species in a paper published in Marine Mammal Science.
The discovery was made after examining the skull of a Rice Whale that was washed on a Florida beach in 2019.
Differences in the whale’s skull clearly separated Rice’s whales from Byrde’s whales, which are closely related to the blue whale and the humpback whale, marine biologists said.
Rice whales are filters that can weigh up to 60,000 pounds and grow up to 42 feet long.
Unfortunately, however, it is estimated that there are less than 100 left.
The species is on the endangered species list and is protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Its major threats include ship attacks, ocean noise, exploration and energy production, oil spills, entanglement of fishing gear and ocean debris, according to NOAA.