Description of a new subspecies of Commerson's dolphin, Cephalorhynchus commersonii (Lacépède, 1804), inhabiting the coastal waters of the Kerguelen Islands

Abstract

A small population of Commerson's dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus commersonii ), widely separated from the South American main population, inhabits the coastal waters of the Kerguelen Islands (Indian sector of the Antarctic or Southern Ocean). The dolphins of this population differ from those of South America by their pigmentation and morphology. Several arguments, including geographic isolation, morphological difference and genetic data (absence of genetic flow between populations and haplotype differences) lead to formally distinguishing a new subspecies, Cephalorhynchus commersonii kerguelenensis , from a nominate subspecies, Cephalorhynchus commersonii commersonii .