Molecular Biology and Evolution, Vol 11, 939-948, Copyright © 1994 by Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution
MC Milinkovitch, A Meyer and JR Powell
Traditionally, living cetaceans (order Cetacea) are classified into two
highly distinct suborders: the echolocating toothed whales, Odontoceti, and
the filter-feeding baleen whales, Mysticeti. A molecular phylogeny based on
1,352 base pairs of two mitochondrial ribosomal gene segments and the
mitochondrial cytochrome b gene for all major groups of cetaceans
contradicts this long-accepted taxonomic subdivision. One group of toothed
whales, the sperm whales, is more closely related to the morphologically
highly divergent baleen whales than to other odontocetes. This finding
suggests that the suborder Odontoceti constitutes an unnatural grouping and
challenges the conventional scenario of a long, independent evolutionary
history of odontocetes and mysticetes. The superfamily Delphinoidea
(dolphins, porpoises, and white whales) appears to be monophyletic; the
Amazon River dolphin, Inia geoffrensis, is its sister species. This river
dolphin is genetically more divergent from the morphologically similar
marine dolphins than the sperm whales are from the morphologically
dissimilar baleen whales. The phylogenetic relationships among the three
families of Delphinoidea remain uncertain, and we suggest that the two
cladogenetic events that generated these three clades occurred within a
very short period of time. Among the baleen whales, the bowhead is basal,
and the gray whale is the sister species to the rorquals (family
Balaenopteridae). The phylogenetic position of beaked whales (Ziphioidea)
remains weakly supported by molecular data. Based on molecular clock
assumptions, the mitochondrial-DNA data suggest a more recent origin of
baleen whales (approximately 25 mya) than has been previously assumed (>
40 mya). This revised phylogeny has important implications for the rate and
mode of evolution of morphological and physiological innovations in
cetaceans.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Phylogeny of all major groups of cetaceans based on DNA sequences from three mitochondrial genes [published erratum appears in Mol Biol Evol 1995 May;12(3):525]
Department of Biology, Yale University.
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