Speciation in the deep - genomics and morphology reveal a new species of beaked whale Mesoplodon eueu (Ramari's beaked whale)

The deep sea has been described as the last major ecological frontier, as much of its biodiversity is yet to be discovered and described. Beaked whales (ziphiids) are among the most visible inhabitants of the deep sea, due to their large size and worldwide distribution, yet their taxonomic diversity and much about their natural history remain poorly understood. We combine genomic and morphometric analyses to reveal a new Southern Hemisphere ziphiid species, Ramari’s beaked whale, Mesoplodon eueu, whose name is linked to the Indigenous peoples of the lands from which the species holotype and paratypes were recovered. Mitogenome and ddRAD-derived phylogenies demonstrate reciprocally monophyletic divergence between M. eueu and True’s beaked whale (M. mirus) from the North Atlantic, with which it was previously subsumed. Morphometric analyses of skulls also distinguish the two species. A time-calibrated mitogenome phylogeny and analysis of two nuclear genomes indicate divergence began circa 2 million years ago (Ma), with geneflow ceasing 0.35-0.55 Ma. This is an example of how deep sea biodiversity can be unravelled through increasing international collaboration and genome sequencing of archival specimens. Our consultation and involvement with Indigenous peoples offers a model for broadening the cultural scope of the scientific naming process.

Identifier
Source https://data.blue-cloud.org/search-details?step=~012490212EB0E73055F9BBCE347B36BE8D7D20AC2E4
Metadata Access https://data.blue-cloud.org/api/collections/490212EB0E73055F9BBCE347B36BE8D7D20AC2E4
Provenance
Instrument Illumina HiSeq 2500; Illumina HiSeq 4000; ILLUMINA
Publisher Blue-Cloud Data Discovery & Access service; ELIXIR-ENA
Contributor UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
Publication Year 2024
OpenAccess true
Contact blue-cloud-support(at)maris.nl
Representation
Discipline Marine Science
Spatial Coverage (-75.179W, 38.128S, -75.179E, 38.128N)
Temporal Coverage Begin 1912-07-26T00:00:00Z
Temporal Coverage End 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z