Two minke whale species are recognized, the Antarctic minke (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and the cosmopolitan common minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) whales. The latter is divided into three subspecies: North Pacific (NP) B. a. scammoni, North Atlantic (NA) B. a. acutorostrata, and the Southern Hemisphere ‘dwarf’ minke whales B. a. unnamed subsp. Genetic variation of two populations of dwarf common minke whales from the Western South Atlantic (WSA) and Western South Pacific (WSP) was assessed through analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences (313 bp) and microsatellite DNA (msDNA) (11 loci). For comparative purposes, the mtDNA analysis involved samples of Antarctic minke whales, NP, and NA common minke whales. The msDNA analysis included individuals from the WSA, WSP, and NP. There was no shared mtDNA haplotype among common minke whales, and the mtDNA haplotype phylogeny analyses placed WSA in a different cluster from WSP and closer or within the NA clade. The WSA population exhibited the lowest estimates of diversity for both markers. The estimate of Nei’s net nucleotide substitution (d_A) between WSA and WSP (0.027) was larger than between WSA and NA (0.014) whales. Significant msDNA differences (based on F_ST and D_SW) were found among NP, WSA and WSP, and the pattern of differentiation was similar to that of the mtDNA. Results suggested that the taxonomical status of common minke whales in the Southern Hemisphere should be revised and that regardless of their taxonomical status, dwarf common minke whales from WSA and WSP are unique populations that require separate management for conservation.

有两种小须鲸物种被认可，南极小须鲸 ( Balaenoptera bonaerensis ) 和世界性普通小须鲸( Balaenoptera acutorostrata )。后者分为三个亚种：北太平洋（NP）B。scammoni，北大西洋（NA）B.一。acutorostrata和南半球“侏儒”小须鲸B.. 未命名的亚种 通过分析线粒体 DNA (mtDNA) 控制区序列 (313 bp) 和微卫星 DNA (msDNA) (11位点）。出于比较目的，mtDNA 分析涉及南极小须鲸、NP 和 NA 普通小须鲸的样本。msDNA 分析包括来自 WSA、WSP 和 NP 的个人。普通小须鲸之间没有共享的 mtDNA 单倍型，并且 mtDNA 单倍型系统发育分析将 WSA 置于与 WSP 不同的集群中，并且更靠近或位于 NA 进化枝内。WSA 种群对两种标记的多样性估计值最低。Nei 净核苷酸取代的估计 ( d _A) 在 WSA 和 WSP (0.027) 之间大于 WSA 和 NA (0.014) 鲸鱼之间。在 NP、WSA 和 WSP 之间发现了显着的 msDNA 差异（基于F _ST和D _SW），并且分化模式与 mtDNA 相似。结果表明，应该修改南半球普通小须鲸的分类地位，无论它们的分类地位如何，来自 WSA 和 WSP 的矮小普通小须鲸都是独特的种群，需要单独管理以进行保护。