New whale species discovered along the coast of Hokkaido

Date:  September 3, 2019

Source: Hokkaido University

A new beaked whale species Berardius minimus, which has been long postulated by local whalers in Hokkaido, Japan, has been confirmed.

In a collaboration between the National Museum of Nature and Science, Hokkaido University, Iwate University, and the United States National Museum of Natural History, a beaked whale species which has long been called Kurotsuchikujira (black Baird's beaked whale) by local Hokkaido whalers has been confirmed as the new cetacean species Berardius minimus (B. minimus).

Beaked whales prefer deep ocean waters and have a long diving capacity, making them hard to see and inadequately understood. The Stranding Network Hokkaido, a research group founded and managed by Professor Takashi F. Matsuishi of Hokkaido University, collected six stranded un-identified beaked whales along the coasts of the Okhotsk Sea.

The whales shared characteristics of B. bairdii (Baird's beaked whale) and were classified as belonging to the same genus Berardius. However, a number of distinguishable external characteristics, such as body proportions and color, led the researchers to investigate whether these beaked whales belong to a currently unclassified species.

Continued

It’s not a bird or plane, it’s a flying squirrel

A bird or plane wouldn’t be as exciting, or as cute, as these two Siberian flying squirrels.

The wide eyed tree dwellers showed off their impressive ability to glide and hide in trees in front of intrigued snappers.

The pictures, which also show the squirrels in cute poses on the bark, were captured by photographer Masatsugu Ohashi on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

A bird or plane wouldn’t be as exciting, or as cute, as these two Siberian flying squirrels.

The wide eyed tree dwellers showed off their impressive ability to glide and hide in trees in front of intrigued snappers.

The pictures, which also show the squirrels in cute poses on the bark, were captured by photographer Masatsugu Ohashi on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.

 ‘The squirrels make this tree a nest every year when it is winter. Five of them live communally in the cold season,’ Mr Ohashi said.

‘It is early morning and in the evening they become active.

‘They are almost always in the nest so chances of photographing them in the daytime are difficult.’

The animals, also known as Russian flying squirrels, can escape predators by stretching out their limbs and gliding between trees.

They are normally quite shy and can sleep for days on end so getting these shots of the animals in action was rare.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/02/18/its-not-a-bird-or-plane-its-a-flying-squirrel-3499754/