Toward a natural classification: Phylogeny of acontiate sea anemones (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria)

Estefanía Rodríguez*, Marcos Barbeitos, Marymegan Daly, Luciana C. Gusmão, Verena Häussermann

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

53 Scopus citations

Abstract

Acontia-nematocyst-dense, thread-like extensions of the mesenterial filaments-are the characteristic feature of the actiniarian group Acontiaria. Phylogenetic analyses have shown that acontiate taxa form a clade that also includes some taxa without acontia. We analyse five molecular markers from 85 actiniarians to explore the phylogenetic relationships among families in Acontiaria, including acontiate species assigned to other higher taxa and species without acontia that have been allied to Acontiaria. Based on our results, we redefine the group to accommodate those lineages that have lost acontia, and formalize it as superfamily Metridioidea. Based on stable and well supported clades, we resurrect Phelliidae and Amphianthidae, redefine Kadosactinidae and Actinoscyphiidae, and move two species to new genera: that previously termed Sagartiogeton erythraios belongs in Jasonactis gen. nov.; and that previously termed Anthosactis pearseae belongs in Ostiactis gen. nov., type genus of Ostiactinidae fam. nov. We also synonymized Halcampoididae and Halcampidae (as Halcampidae) and Andvakiidae and Isophelliidae (as Andvakiidae). The results of our phylogenetic analyses indicate that the diagnostic morphological characters used in the family-level taxonomy of acontiate actiniarians such as the nematocysts of the acontia, the marginal sphincter muscle, and mesenteries divisible into macro- and micro-cnemes, have to be revisited, as these features are highly homoplasious.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)375-392
Number of pages18
JournalCladistics
Volume28
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2012
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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