Scientists and culture experts in New Zealand have begun the first-ever dissection of a spade-toothed whale, the world's rarest whale species.

An extremely rare spade-toothed beaked whale is being examined by researchers in New Zealand. Only seven of its kind have ever been found and almost nothing is known about the enigmatic species.

Scientists in New Zealand have begun dissecting what is considered the rarest whale in the world, a species so elusive that only seven of the animals have ever been documented.

New Zealand scientists on Monday began dissecting a whale considered the rarest in the world, a species so elusive that only seven specimens have ever been documented.

It is the world’s rarest whale, with only seven of its kind ever spotted. Almost nothing is known about the species. But on Monday a group of scientists and experts in New Zealand clustered around a near-perfectly preserved spade-toothed whale hoping to decode decades of mystery.