Molecular genetic study of the beluga (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Delphinapterus leucas</Emphasis>: Cetacea,Monodontidae) summering in the southern Sea of Okhotsk as compared to North American populations

The structure of the left part of the mtDNA control region has been studied in Delphinapterus leucas captured in summer in the southern Sea of Okhotsk. The data have been compared with published results of similar studies on D. leucas at different sites along the American coast. A high specificity of maternal lineages of D. leucas from the southern Sea of Okhotsk has been demonstrated against the background of its historical connection with the form from the Pacific refugium that colonized the western Arctic region in postglacial time.