Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Relationship of baleen whales established by cytochrome b gene sequence comparison

Nature volume 367, pages 726–728 (1994)Cite this article

Abstract

ARECENT revision1 of whale phylogeny suggested that the sperm whale was more closely related to rorquals than to other toothed whales. This made the suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales) paraphyletic, and implied that the latest common ancestor of rorquals and sperm whales may have lived only 10–13 million years ago. This is at variance with palaeontological evidence for the greater antiquity for both mysticetes (baleen whales) and sperm whales, so the Mysticeti, as well as the Odontoceti, must also be paraphyletic if the dates implied in ref. 1 were correct. Here we present a more comprehensive phylogenetic analysis that demonstrates the monophyly of mysticetes and identifies no particular affinity between the sperm whales and rorquals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Milinkovitch, M. C., Ortí, G. & Meyer, A. Nature 361, 346–348 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Grétarsdóttir, S. & Árnason, Ú. Molec. Biol. Evol. 10, 306–318 (1993).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Árnason, Ú. & Benirschke, K. Hereditas 75, 67–74 (1973).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Árnason, Ú. Hereditas 95, 277–281 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Heyning, J. E. Contrib. Sci. 405, 1–64 (1989).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Heyning, J. E. & Mead, J. G. in Sensory Abilities of Cetaceans (eds Thomas, J. & Kastelein R.) 67–79 (Plenum, New York, 1990).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  7. Barnes, L. G. & Mitchell, E. D. in Evolution of African Mammals (eds Maglio, V. J. & Cooke, H. S.) 582–603 (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, MA, 1978).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Czelusniak, J. et al. in Current Mammalogy (ed. Genoways, H. H.) 545–572 (Plenum, New York, 1990).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Goodman, M. in The Hierarchy of Life (eds Fernholm, B., Bremer, K. & Jörnvall, H.) 43–61 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Árnason, Ú., Grétarsdóttir, S. & Gullberg, A. Biochem. Syst. Ecol. 21, 115–122 (1993).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Barnes, L. G., Domning, D. P. & Ray, C. E. Mar. Mammal Sci. 1, 15–53 (1985).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Novacek, M. Nature 361, 298–299 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Barnes, L. G. & McLeod, S. A. in The Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robustus (eds Jones, M. L., Swartz, S. L. & Leatherwood, S.) 3–32 (Academic, New York, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Árnason, Ú., Grétarsdóttir, S. & Widegren, B. Molec. Biol. Evol. 9, 1018–1028 (1992).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Swofford, D. L. Phylogenetic Analysis Using Parsimony Version 3.1.1 (Illinois History Survey, Champaign, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Irwin, D. M., Kocher, T. D. & Wilson, A. C. J. molec. Evol. 32, 128–144 (1991).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Anderson, S. et al. J. molec. Biol. 156, 683–717 (1982).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Gray, J. E. Trans. Proc. N. Z. Inst. 6, 93–97 (1874).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Miller, G. S. Smithson. Misc. Collect. 76, 1–72 (1923).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Mead, J. G. & Brownell, R. L. in Mammal Species of the World (eds Wilson, D. E. & Reeder, D. M.) 349–364 (Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington DC, 1993).

  21. Árnason, Ú. & Best, P. B. Hereditas 114, 263–269 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Adegoke, J. A., Árnason, Ú. & Widegren, B. Chromosoma 102, 382–388 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Árnason, Ú., Gullberg, A. & Widegren, B. Molec. Biol. Evol. 10, 960–970 (1993).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Spilliaert, R. et al. J. Hered. 82, 269–274 (1991).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Árnason, Ú., Spilliaert, R., Pálsdóttir, Á. & Árnason, A. Hereditas 115, 183–189 (1991).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Árnason, Ú. & Gullberg, A. J. molec. Evol. 37, 312–322 (1993).

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Felsenstein, J. PHYLIP Version 3.4.1. (Univ. of Washington, Seattle, 1991).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Árnason, Ú., Gullberg, A. & Widegren, B. J. molec. Evol. 33, 556–568 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Rice, D. W. NOAA Techn. Rep. NMFS SSRF-711 (1977).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Division of Evolutionary Molecular Systematics, University of Lund, Sölvegatan 29, S-223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Úlfur Árnason & Anette Gullberg

Authors
  1. Úlfur Árnason
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anette Gullberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Árnason, Ú., Gullberg, A. Relationship of baleen whales established by cytochrome b gene sequence comparison. Nature 367, 726–728 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1038/367726a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/367726a0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing
  NODES
ELIZA 1
Intern 1
Javascript 1
os 12
twitter 1
web 1