The matrilineal long-finned pilot whale presents an antitropical distribution and is divided into two subspecies, one in the temperate seas of the Southern Hemisphere and the other restricted to the north Atlantic and Mediterranean. Until now, population genetic and phylogeographic studies have included localities of most of its Northern Hemisphere distribution, while only the southwestern Pacific has been sampled in the Southern Hemisphere. We add new genetic data from the southeastern Pacific to the published sequences. Low mitochondrial and nuclear diversity was encountered in this new area, as previously reported for other localities. four haplotypes were found with only one new for the species. fifteen haplotypes were detected in the global dataset, underlining the species' low diversity. As previously reported, the subspecies shared two haplotypes and presented a strong phylogeographic structure. the extant distribution of this species has been related to dispersal events during the Last Glacial Maximum. Using the genetic data and Approximate Bayesian calculations, this study supports this historical biogeographic scenario. from a taxonomic perspective, even if genetic analyses do not support the subspecies category, this study endorses the incipient divergence process between hemispheres, thus maintaining their status and addressing them as Demographically independent populations is recommended. Cetaceans have a diverse-and many times contrasting-array of geographic distributions. Some of the widest ranging species include the cosmopolitan sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus 1 and the orca Orcinus orca 2. Other species, especially small-sized odontocetes, generally present coastal and more restricted distributions, like the extreme case of the vaquita, Phocoena sinus 3. Some cetaceans have a particular distribution pattern known as disjunct or antitropical, in which the taxon is present at high latitudes in both hemispheres while being absent from lower latitudes 4. Examples include the mysticete genus Eubalaena, with E. borealis inhabiting the North Pacific, E. japonica the North Atlantic and their austral equivalent in the Southern Hemisphere, E. australis 5. The phocoenid species pair Phocoena phocoena and P. spinipinnis is another example, found in the Northern Hemisphere and the coasts of South America, respectively 6. Among delphinids, the two Lissodelphis species also present this antitropical distribution pattern; L. peronii is present around the Southern Hemisphere, while L. borealis is found in the North Pacific 7. A similar antitropical distribution is presented by the two subspecies of long-finned pilot whales Globicephala melas, where G. m. edwardii inhabits the temperate to subpolar waters of the Southern Hemisphere, while G. m. melas is restricted to the North Atlantic 8. Extinct populations of long-finned pilot whales have been reported in the North Pacific, from Japan 9 and Alaska 10 , dating back 8 000-12 000 years and 2 500-3 500 years, respectively 9,10. Pilot whales are a highly social ...