Morphometric segregation of long-finned pilot whales in eastern and western North Atlantic

Discriminant analysis performed on morphometric measurements of pilot whales showed significant differences between the samples obtained in Faroese and Newfoundland waters. Regardless of total body length, pilot whales in Newfoundland showed longer skulls (Males: F = 56.22; p < 0.001. Females: F = 167.00; P < 0.001) and shorter torsos (Males: F = 84.15; P < 0.001. Females: F = 70.56; P < 0.001), than Faroese pilot whales. Moreover, flippers of Newfoundland male pilot whales were significantly longer than the Faroese, also regardless of total body length (F = 13.40; P < 0.001). It is suggested that these differences may be caused by the isolation resulting from the physical barrier created by the front between the North Atlantic-Irminger Current and the East Greenland-Labrador Current. The front moves from south-west to north-east and turns north following the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, separating the northern North Atlantic in a western and an eastern gyre. This results in a segregation of the long-finned pilot whales occurring in the eastern and western parts of the North Atlantic.