Northern minke whales can be distinguished from
other rorquals by a well - defined white band located on the middle of their dark pectoral flippers.
The nearly equal frequency of conflicting gene trees suggests that speciation
of rorqual evolution occurred under gene flow, which is best depicted by evolutionary networks.
The evolutionarily enigmatic gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) is placed
among rorquals, and the blue whale genome shows a high degree of heterozygosity.
Cross-genome analyses now indicate that there are apparently no genetic barriers between species and that there has been gene flow among different
rorqual species in the past.
Blue whales are
rorqual whales, a family of baleen whales with pleated throat grooves that expand when the animal takes in water while feeding.
That eating method, unique to a group of baleen whales known
as rorquals, involves gulping a volume of water roughly equal to the whale's whole body into its expandable throat.
The scientists are now starting to investigate exactly how the organ aided
rorquals in scoring enough food to reach and sustain their immense size.
The same is true for the gray whale, which was believed to be evolutionarily distinct
from rorquals due to its appearance.
Pyenson et al. report that the site, Cerro Ballena, dates to the Late Miocene period and consists of over 40 skeletons of marine vertebrates,
including rorqual and sperm whales, seals, predatory fishes, and fascinating, now completely extinct, species such as walrus - whales and aquatic sloths.
In addition,
rorquals seem to have separated into different species in the absence of geographical barriers.
Whole - genome sequencing of the blue whale and other
rorquals finds signatures for introgressive gene flow
Evolutionary multilocus analyses of 34,192 genome fragments reveal a fast radiation of
rorquals at 10.5 to 7.5 million years ago coinciding with oceanic circulation shifts.
Its head's ventral surface lacks the numerous prominent furrows of the
related rorquals, instead bearing two to five shallow furrows on the throat's underside.
These grooves are less numerous (usually 14 — 22) than in
other rorquals, but are fairly wide.
Humpback whales belong to the group of whales known
as rorquals, which includes the blue whale, fin whale, Bryde's whale, sei whale, and minke whale.
For the first time, scientists of the German Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, Goethe University and the University of Lund in Sweden have deciphered the complete genome of the blue whale and three other
rorquals.
For these migratory whales, geographical barriers do not exist in the vastness of the ocean, instead
some rorquals differentiated by inhabiting different ecological niches.
New research highlights that the evolution of these extraordinary animals and other
rorquals was also anything but ordinary
Frankfurt am Main / Germany, April 5, 2018 — For the first time, scientists of the German Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center, Goethe University, and the University of Lund in Sweden have deciphered the complete genome of the blue whale and three other
rorquals.
To track down
the rorquals» evolution, the scientists have applied so - called evolutionary network analyses.
So far, the humpback whale has been seen as an outsider among
the rorquals because of its enormous fins.
A research team led by professor Axel Janke, evolutionary geneticist at the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center and Goethe University, has found that
the rorquals, including the blue whale, mated across emerging species boundaries.
Teaming up with cetacean specialist and professor Ulfur Arnason at University of Lund, Sweden, Lammers and his colleagues are the first to have sequenced the complete genome of the blue whale and other
rorquals, including the humpback and the gray whale.
Now new research highlights that the evolution of these extraordinary animals and other
rorquals was also anything but ordinary.
Surprisingly, the genomes show that
rorquals have been hybridizing during their evolutionary history.
Overall, the research also shows that the relationships among
the rorqual species are more complicated than hitherto thought.
This might be caused by genomic admixture that may have taken place among
some rorquals.
Marine scientists have discovered that certain species of whales are outsiders to
the rorquals, the biggest group of whales in the ocean.
More recently, though, DNA sequencing analysis has indicated the humpback is more closely related to certain
rorquals, particularly the fin whale (B. physalus) and possibly to the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), than it is to other rorquals such as the minke whales.
They are the smallest of the «great whales», or
rorquals, and are part of the Cetacea order; which includes whales, dolphins and porpoises.
[13][14] But other recent studies place gray whales as being outside
the rorqual clade, but as the closest relatives to the rorquals.
However, DNA analysis by studies, such as the one by Takeshi Sasaki (of the Tokyo Institute of Technology) and colleagues, [13] indicates certain
rorquals, such as the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, and the fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, are more closely related to the gray whale than they are to some other rorquals, such as the minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata.
[12] Some recent DNA analyses have suggested that certain
rorquals of the family Balaenopteridae, such as the humpback whale, Megaptera novaeangliae, and fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, are more closely related to the gray whale than they are to some other rorquals, such as the minke whales.
(Balaenoptera physalus) The Fin whale is a member of
the rorqual family, which includes Humback whales, Minke whales, Blue whales, Bryde's whales and Sei whales.
The whales sought by the JWA are
rorquals that eat krill, not fish.
Minke whales are the smallest of
the rorqual whales, as well as the most abundant.