Scientists have identified two unknown circoviruses in short-finned pilot whales and orcas living in the Caribbean region of the North Atlantic Ocean, the first to be detected in cetaceans from this part of the world. The team recovered seven complete circovirus genomes.

Five of were found in short-finned pilot whales, while two came from orcas. The viruses represent new species, which the team named shofin circovirus and orcin circovirus. Both are clearly different from the only cetacean circovirus previously identified, beaked whale circovirus, discovered in a whale from the Pacific Ocean.