Three whales spotted off the coast off Mexico are thought to be a previously unknown species. Researchers found the mammals while tracking beaked whales near the San Benito Islands in November.
Jay Barlow, a marine mammal biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, said they did not realise their discovery until later when studying photos.
The scientists are now awaiting the DNA analysis of water samples that could hold skin cells for possible DNA testing to confirm whether the whales are a new species.
If confirmed, it would bring the number of known beaked whale species to 24.
