(AP) — The tiny group of endangered whales that make the Gulf of Mexico their home turns out to be a previously unknown species.
The best count is that there are about 33 of the long, slender filter feeders - and definitely fewer than 100 of them.
They’re listed as endangered in the U.S. and as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
They were classified as a Bryde’s (pronounced BROO-duhs) whale subspecies, but many scientists suspected they were something different.
An expert who didn't work on the paper calls it very exciting.