2014/02/05 by Merel L. Dalebout, C. Scott Baker, Debbie Steel +11 · 3 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Marine animal studies overview #Marine and coastal plant biology #Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies #Beaked whale #Biology #Lineage (genetic) #Zoology #Monophyly #Systematics #Mitochondrial DNA #Species complex #Evolutionary biology #Taxonomy (biology) #Ecology #Clade #Phylogenetics #Whale #Phylogenetic tree #Genetics #Gene
paper · doi:10.1111/mms.12113
openalex publication_date 2014/02/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract We present genetic and morphological evidence supporting the recognition of a previously synonymized species of Mesoplodon beaked whale in the tropical Indo‐Pacific, Mesoplodon hotaula . Although the new species is closely‐related to the rare ginkgo‐toothed beaked whale M. ginkgodens, we show that these two lineages can be differentiated by maternally (mitochondrial DNA ), biparentally (autosomal), and paternally (Y chromosome) inherited DNA sequences, as well as by morphological features. The reciprocal monophyly of the mt DNA genealogies and the largely parapatric distribution of these lineages is consistent with reproductive isolation. The new lineage is currently known from at least seven specimens: Sri Lanka (1), Gilbert Islands, Republic of Kiribati (1+), Palmyra Atoll, Northern Line Islands, U.S.A. (3), Maldives (1), and Seychelles (1). The type specimen (Sri Lanka) was described as a new species, M. hotaula , in 1963, but later synonymized with M. ginkgodens . This discovery brings the total number of Mesoplodon species to 15, making it, by far, the most speciose yet least known genus of cetaceans.