Short-finned pilot whale first of kind in British waters
A whale found stranded on a Welsh beach more than a decade ago has been identified as the first of its kind ever found in British waters.
Short-finned pilot whales are usually found in tropical to warm temperate seas and not in northern Europe.
Researchers say it adds to growing evidence of aquatic mammals being affected by climate change.
The whale stranded at Hazelbeach near Neyland, Pembrokeshire, on 1 March, 2012.
It was examined by the Defra and the Welsh government-funded Cetacean Investigation Programme (CSIP) and was initially identified as a long-finned pilot whale,
Globicephala melas, which are commonly found in British waters and strand frequently.
However, fresh analysis of its skull and teeth, described by scientists in a newly published article in the journal Mammal Communications, confirmed it was a short-finned pilot whale - the first found in British waters.
Andrew Kitchener, principal curator of vertebrates at National Museums Scotland, where the whale's skull is now held, said: "This is one of a growing number of examples in our collection going back to the 1980s of what we would normally think of as warm-water species being found for the first time in British waters.
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