The exact number of extant delphinid species from seas around India is still debated and the lack of adequate field keys
and reliable inventory has resulted in misidentification of several species. As a part of a project to develop a molecular
taxonomy of cetaceans from this region, partial sequences of mtDNA cytochrome b were generated from accidentally
caught/stranded delphinids and finless porpoise. Species were identified by phylogenetic reconstruction of sample
sequences with the reference sequences available in portals GenBank (NCBI) and the web-based program DNA Surveillance.
A comparison was made with the homologous sequences of corresponding species from other seas of the world.
Our molecular investigations allowed us to identify five species of cetaceans from Indian coasts, including Delphinus
capensis, previously reported as D. delphis. We detected unique haplotypes in Indo pacific humpbacked dolphin (Sousa
chinensis; n = 2) and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides; n = 12) from Indian coast. On the other hand, some
haplotypes were shared with other regional populations in spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris; n = 16) and bottlenose
dolphin (Tursiops aduncus; n = 3). Common dolphins (Delphinus capensis; n = 2) had both unique and shared haplotypes
including one highly divergent sequence
