A dead beaked whale described to resemble a dolphin was found washed up on a Plymouth, Massachusetts beach Friday.

Believed to be a Sowerby's beaked whale, the deep-water animal species is very rare that marine experts "have been conferring to determine the exact species," aquarium officials said in a statement released Saturday, CNN reported.

Like Us on Facebook

"They're very, very rare. It's definitely one of those things you're not quite sure what to make of it," New England Aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse said.

"It's a glimpse into a habitat that's not so far away, but it's still a world away. They live in a world of their own," he explained.

Weighing approximately a ton, the 17-foot toothed female whale with dark purplish skin and a long slender snout was discovered on a stone jetty on Jones Beach.

"The beaked whale carcass is fairly fresh and in good condition," marine biologists said in a statement, as per Pioneer News. "At first inspection, the long, streamlined whale did not have any obvious entanglement gear or scars or obvious trauma from a vessel strike."

Deep diving Sowerby's whales are reportedly normally found on the continental shelf, hundreds of miles out to sea.

On Saturday, an animal autopsy was performed by marine biologists with the New England Aquarium at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. An investigation on what caused the animal to wash ashore is also being conducted.

The whale was called in at 10 a.m. on Friday by a Plymouth Marine and Environmental Affairs staff. Officers had to anchor the enormous specimen to avoid washing out, Plymouth harbormaster Chad Hunter told CNN.

"Deep diving whales you generally don't see near the coast, so it is very unique for it to wash up on the beach," said Hunter. "We have had a number of whales and dolphins end up on shore over the years, but never this species to my knowledge."

The beaked-whale is just one of the only two deep-water species to surface in the Bay State shore in at least the past 15 years, Boston Herald has learned.

The last beaked whale sighting in Massachusetts waters reportedly occurred in Duxbury in 2006, when the creature swam in circles in distress before it died in front of aquarium officials.

TagsBeaked whale, Massachusetts, Dolphin, Beach