Shepherd’s beaked whale, Tasmacetus shepherdi.

The oceans hold many natural history treasures and wonders. New animals are being discovered at a faster rate from the seas than in freshwater or on land. But these finds from the marine environment often get little attention from Homo sapiens versus, say, a new giant peccary or a new monkey.

Overnight, famed marine biologist Bob Pitman shared with me breaking news about several new marine mammal species. The news will not get as much of a read as a fuzzy picture of a land mammal from the woods of Pennsylvania or of a rapid moving otter-like animal videotaped in Loch Ness. That’s a darn shame.

The media, in general, will ignore the new marine species news because its importance is not fully realized, as compared to the more land-linked and freshwater-based news of, for example, a new manatee, a new monitor, or a new antelope. Humans are biased in favor of terrestrial and freshwater species.

Nevertheless, it is downright remarkable that Pitman’s findings have pointed to a new Dwarf Killer Whale being discovered in Antarctica, and his colleagues have detailed the evidence for a likely new species of Mesoplodon, a new beaked whale (ziphiid) in the tropical Pacific.

Give me a new species of a Dwarf Killer Whale any day over some newly uploaded YouTube insider analysis of images from a trailcam of a mangy bear or whatever. Real species, real analysis, real findings.

Pitman also shared with me a paper that has been generally overlooked from last year. In his 2006 paper, he details the first confirmed live sightings of Shepherd’s beaked whale (Tasmacetus shepherdi), a cryptic ziphiid species finally fully documented. I appreciate being able to pass along this entire paper to you today.

Take a break from foggy bottom blobsquatch pictures and read a bit about some incredible scientific work being done to establish new marine species.

The time has come to pay attention to these remarkable new marine species discoveries.

You may download the complete paper here: Shepherd’s Beaked Whale