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Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Humpback whales breach in synchronisation

Humpback whales are renowned for their incredible acrobatic displays, but a family in the USA...
Long-finned pilot whale

Unusual activity witnessed before pilot whale stranding

Just days after a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on an island in the...

Mystery sound in Mariana trench could be a whale

Scientists from Oregon State University believe whales might be responsible for creating a mysterious sound picked up by acoustic devices in the Mariana Trench.

The 2500km long trench, located in the western Pacific, contains the deepest part of the world’s oceans, one point reaching a depth of nearly 11,000 metres (36,000ft).

Lasting between 2.5 and 3.5 seconds, the five-part call includes deep moans  at frequencies as low as 38 hertz and a metallic finale that pushes as high as 8,000 hertz. It has become known as the “Western Pacific Biotwang”. The sound was recorded using ocean gliders.

The recordings most closely resembles the “Star Wars” noises made by dwarf minke whales found on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and while little is known about minke whale populations at low latitudes, there are known to be regional differences in their calls. A further puzzling feature is that the sounds were recorded throughout the year, whereas baleen whales usually are more vocal during the winter breeding season. Further research will be needed to identify if indeed the sounds were made by a whale, and if so, which species and whether it is connected to breeding or not.

 

A new baleen whale call recorded in the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument
Sharon L. Nieukirk, Selene Fregosi, and David K. Mellinger Holger Klinck
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America