A Stranding Record of Dwarf Sperm Whale Kogia sima in Lakshadweep Archipelago, India and its Genetic Analogy by Molecular Phylogeny K. V. Aneesh Kumar 1 & Sibi T. Baby 2 & K. V. Dhaneesh 3 & Hashim Manjebrayakath 1 & N. Saravanane 1 & M. Sudhakar 1 Received: 28 April 2018 # Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 Abstract The distribution of Kogiid whales from the Indian Ocean waters, especially Indian waters are poorly known. It is extremely difficult to differentiate the two species (Kogia sima and K. breviceps) based on their morphological characteristics alone. Our study presents the first confirmed record of dwarf sperm whale Kogia sima from the Indian waters using morphological exam- inations, skull morphology and molecular identification. The study is based on the stranded animal found in the west coast of Agatti Island in Lakshadweep Archipelago belongs to the Indian EEZ. K. sima showed intra-species genetic variability which confirms the isolation of the species in oceans as the tropical nature of the species restricts its movement. Keywords Kogia sima . Kogiid whales . Kogiidae . Stranding . Lakshadweep . Indian Ocean Introduction Two species of Kogia are reported in world oceans (Jefferson et al. 2015). The K. breviceps (pygmy sperm whale) are mostly reported from the cooler waters compared to its congener K. sima (dwarf sperm whale) (Baird et al. 1996; Willis and Baird 1998; Best 2007). K. sima reported to inhabit waters extending mainly seaward from the continental slope to deep ocean waters (Caldwell and Caldwell 1989; Willis and Baird 1998; Baird 2005). K. sima is widely distributed in the tropical to warm temperate waters around the world oceans, especially in the off shore areas (Ross 1979; Rice 1998; Jefferson et al. 2015), mostly from 24°N to 40°S (Wade and Gerrodette 1993) with few distributional records from further north (Nagorsen and Stewart 1983; Bloch and Mikkelsen 2009; Hazevoet et al. 2010). The information regarding the distribution and biology of K. sima are mainly achieved through the stranding reports and sightings (eg. Ballance et al. 2001; Palacios-Alfaro 2009; Santos et al. 2010; Beasley et al. 2013; Bonato et al. 2016). However, it is extremely difficult to discriminate the species during the sighting events due to their very close morpholog- ical similarity (Willis and Baird 1998; Baird 2005). There are many reports (mainly from the stranding) on the distribution of K. sima from the Indian Ocean waters (Leatherwood and Donovan 1990; Ballance and Pitman 1998; Willis and Baird 1998) with limited information from the western Indian Ocean (Kiszka et al. 2007, 2008, 2010; Bonato et al. 2016). Forty species of cetaceans were recorded from Indian Ocean and around 30 species of marine mammals are reported from Indian waters which is nearly 25% of the marine mammals reported worldwide (Nameer 2000; Kumaran 2002; Anon 2008; Jefferson et al. 2015). The infor- mation regarding the distribution of K. sima from the Indian waters are very much limited and poorly understood (Molur et al. 1998; Kumaran 2002; Jeyabaskaran and Vivekanandan 2013) with much uncertainty and conflicts of reliability in the identification (Chantrapornsyl et al. 1991). Most of the early reports are in the form of historical notes (Jerdon 1867; De Silva 1987) and are based on morphological examinations dur- ing stranding, sightings and fishery interactions (Kumaran 2002) which compromises the accuracy in the species identifi- cation which ultimately leads to misleading information (Kumaran 2002). Hence, molecular techniques and the exami- nation of the skull are highly valuable for the accurate identifi- cation of the species (Chivers et al. 2005; Jefferson et al. 2015). * K. V. Aneesh Kumar aneeshmenan12@gmail.com 1 Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Kakkanad, Cochin 682037, India 2 Department of Marine Biology, School of Ocean Science and Technology, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Panangad, Cochin 682506, India 3 Department of Aquaculture, PM Sayeed Calicut University Centre, Andrott Island, 682 551, Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India Thalassas: An International Journal of Marine Sciences https://doi.org/10.1007/s41208-018-0115-9