In January 2019, a beached whale in Florida started a chain reaction that led to the discovery of a brand new whale species. Originally thought to be a slightly funky population of Bryde’s whale, the newly minted Rice’s whale became Earth’s newest whale species. There’s only one problem: there are just 50 of these individuals remaining. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The specimen was left to decompose at a sandbar and then the carcass was eventually taken to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. There, measurements and photographs were taken of the skull, and comparisons were made to other species and specimens to determine where this creature belonged. Genetic material from skin samples was also tested

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