--- title: Scientists May Have Discovered a New Kind of Killer Whale description: Ecologist Bob Pitman led a January expedition off the coast of Chile, where he and his team collected samples of the "Type D killer whale" canonical: https://time.com/5547808/type-d-killer-whale-chile/ author: Hillary Leung article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-08T07:39:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:58:30.923Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists May Have Discovered a New Kind of Killer Whale og:description: The "Type D killer whale" was discovered off the coast of Chile og:url: https://time.com/5547808/type-d-killer-whale-chile/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12f50d87d7388482/69894674b21a9c8d6c5003e3/gettyimages-455476235.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: FRANCE-ANIMALS-ORCA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists May Have Discovered a New Kind of Killer Whale twitter:description: The "Type D killer whale" was discovered off the coast of Chile twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12f50d87d7388482/69894674b21a9c8d6c5003e3/gettyimages-455476235.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Think They May Have Found a New Kind of Killer Whale > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Hillary Leung](https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/) ## Hillary Leung Mar 8, 2019 7:39 AM UTC  An orca swims with its calf at the Marineland animal exhibition park in the French Riviera city of Antibes, southeastern France, on Dec. 12, 2013. An orca swims with its calf at the Marineland animal exhibition park in the French Riviera city of Antibes, southeastern France, on Dec. 12, 2013. Valery Hache—AFP/Getty Images by [Hillary Leung](https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/) ## Hillary Leung Mar 8, 2019 7:39 AM UTC It was more than 60 years ago when a pod of unusual-looking killer whales washed up on a New Zealand beach. With their snubbed noses and pointy fins, scientists had a hunch that these were no ordinary orcas. New research [carried out in](https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/scientists-find-mystery-killer-whales-cape-horn-chile) parts of the ocean off Chile may present viable proof that the animals are a distinct, never-before-discovered species of killer whales, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Bob Pitman, a researcher for NOAA, led the three-week expedition in Cape Horn, near the southern tip of Chile. There had earlier been reports that strange-looking orcas residing in those waters had been snatching the catch from fishermen. During a three-hour window that came after eight days of bad weather hampering their voyage, Pitman and his crew found themselves surrounded by about 30 killer whales that were distinctly different from the orca family they were used to studying. Underwater images captured from wide-angle cameras revealed unique color patterns and body shape. They had rounder heads, shorter noses and narrower, pointier fins, and the white patches around their eyes were smaller than those of other killer whales. By carefully shooting harmless crossbow darts towards the whales, which approached the vessel many times, the team was able to collect tiny skin samples for analysis. The animals have been termed “Type D whales”, adding to [a list](https://us.whales.org/meet-the-different-types-of-orcas/) of three types of whales confirmed to be residing in the Southern Hemisphere, according to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation. “We are very excited about the genetic analyses to come. Type D killer whales could be the largest undescribed animal left on the planet and a clear indication of how little we know about life in our oceans,” Pitman said. The biopsy samples have been brought to the laboratory, where scientists will analyze DNA from their skin over the next few months. “These samples hold the key to determining whether this form of killer whale represents a distinct species,” Pitman added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5547808/type-d-killer-whale-chile/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5547808/type-d-killer-whale-chile/"},"headline":"Scientists Think They May Have Found a New Kind of Killer Whale","datePublished":"2019-03-08T07:39:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:58:30.923Z","description":"The \"Type D killer whale\" was discovered off the coast of Chile","url":"https://time.com/5547808/type-d-killer-whale-chile/","keywords":["animals","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12f50d87d7388482/69894674b21a9c8d6c5003e3/gettyimages-455476235.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hillary Leung","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt12f50d87d7388482/69894674b21a9c8d6c5003e3/gettyimages-455476235.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FRANCE-ANIMALS-ORCA","caption":"FRANCE-ANIMALS-ORCA","creditText":"Valery Hache—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5547808/type-d-killer-whale-chile/","name":"Scientists Think They May Have Found a New Kind of Killer Whale"}}]}] ```