Abstract
The North Atlantic and North Pacific minke whales are regarded as two different subspecies. In this study we aimed to clarify the morphological differences of the white patch on the flipper between these subspecies. Morphological measurements were taken from the left flipper of sexually mature animals, collected from the North Atlantic (N=15) and the North Pacific (N=16) oceans. The length between the tip of flipper to the distal border of the white patch relative to the total flipper length showed no statistical differences between the two subspecies. However, the length between the tip of flipper to the proximal border of white patch relative to the total flipper length was significantly larger in the North Atlantic (74.31%) as compared to the North Pacific (63.62%) minke whales. Also, the mean angle between the proximal boundary line of the white patch and the longitudinal axis of the flipper was significantly different between the North Atlantic (70.05 degrees) and the North Pacific (92.29 degrees) minke whales. These results show that there are clear morphological differences in the white patch of the flipper between the two minke whale subspecies.
