A streamlined system for species diagnosis in Caenorhabditis (Nematoda: Rhabditidae) with name designations for 15 distinct biological species.

ABSTRACT: The rapid pace of species discovery outstrips the rate of species description in many taxa. This problem is especially acute for Caenorhabditis nematodes, where the naming of distinct species would greatly improve their visibility and usage for biological research, given the thousands of scientists studying Caenorhabditis. Species description and naming has been hampered in Caenorhabditis, in part due to the presence of morphologically cryptic species despite complete biological reproductive isolation and often enormous molecular divergence. With the aim of expediting species designations, here we propose and apply a revised framework for species diagnosis and description in this group. Our solution prioritizes reproductive isolation over traditional morphological characters as the key fea

SUBMITTER: Felix MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3984244 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature