Tokyo - A beached whale buried along the coast of southern Japan five months ago has turned out to be the first adult find of an ultra rare species, researchers said on Thursday.
After excavating and examining the remains, experts identified the 6,5m whale as a mature, female Longman's beaked whale.
Only five other remains of the elusive species had been collected in far-flung waters off Australia, Somalia and South Africa - but those were mostly skeletal or young.
The Longman's whale that washed up in late July provided scientists the first whole, adult specimen, said Nobutaka Kubo, a marine researcher at Kagoshima City Aquarium, which examined the whale with the National Science Museum.
The whale died shortly after swimming aground on the coast in the southern prefecture of Kagoshima. It was then buried at a beach.
Experts collected the entire skeleton and tissue samples for further examination.
The shape of the skeleton and its skull closely resemble remains of other Longman's beaked whales preserved overseas, and results of DNA testing matched those of a specimen at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, the National Science Museum said in a statement.
Longman's beaked whales, also known as Indo-Pacific beaked whales, have long beak-shaped mouths and resemble an elongated dolphin. It also has forward-pointing teeth from the tip of the lower jaw.
The finding is expected to contribute to future research about the rare species. - Sapa-AP