Sometimes fauna that look the same are , in fact , dissimilar . Other times , fauna that look different are in reality the same specie . And on some affair , science has to go out of its way to prove that two animals that take care different are indeed different on a genome storey . This was the example for the short - finned pilot whale , a species commonly find in the Atlantic , Pacific , and Indian Oceans . As it turns out , they are not a single species . or else , twosubspeciesof pilot whales be , which the researchers proved using familial analysis . The findings are reported inMolecular Ecology .
The musical theme that short - finned pilot heavyweight are not a individual species actually comes from the first verbal description of them byJapanese naturalist Yamase . He identified the pilot whale in northern Japan as deliver round heads ( “ Shiho ” ) and the ones exist in southerly Japan as have square head ( “ Naisa ” ) . These descriptions were also found in subsequent papers by British zoologist J.E. Gray .
Yet , the Shiho and Naisa whales had so much in common that , despite forcible conflict , they were consider the same type of animal . The Shiho are only found in Northern Japan and the Eastern Pacific , while the Naisa are recover across this spread and beyond . Despite clear forcible conflict , researcher don that they must be the same species since there was no physical barrier that would justify the egression of two race .
“ You would carry to see a different race of whale in each ocean basin – the Atlantic , Indian , and Pacific . That ’s pretty common . But what we found was that suddenly - finned buffer giant in the Atlantic are the same sub - species as those living in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific , ” lead author Dr Amy Van Cise , from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution , said in astatement .
The analysis of mitochondrial DNA from 735 sample of unforesightful - finned buffer whales affirm that the syllable structure is indeed a cleared indication of two separate coinage . The wide part in the Pacific seems to have formed a roadblock due to food survival possibleness .
“ It seems to have distinguish these grouping of whale for long enough that they diverged into two different types , ” Dr Van Cise explained . “ That means continent and land form may not have been as important a barrier as we think to this species ’ evolution . Instead , the pelagic ‘ desert ’ in the Pacific might have been more important . ”
This is the first field of study to look at the transmissible diversity of short - finned pilot whale . The genetic analysis hints at the possibly that more race will be bring out in the future . The information suggest that within the Naisa race , there are two divergent universe – one inhabit in the Atlantic and one in the Indian and Pacific Ocean .
“ You ca n’t manage brute globally without understanding their diversity . If you think of a group of animal as a individual species , and it turns out they ’re not , you could roll up incidentally lose an entire race without sleep together it , ” Dr Van Cise add .
While these animals are not endanger worldwide , they are vulnerable to mass strandings . Just last twelvemonth about150 abruptly - finned cowcatcher whaleswashed ashore in Australia .
