Revised Cornechiniscus (Heterotardigrada) and new phylogenetic analyses negate echiniscid subfamilies and tribes.

ABSTRACT: Echiniscidae are undoubtedly the most thoroughly studied lineage of the class Heterotardigrada. Recently, new subfamilies and tribes grouping echiniscid genera based on traditionally recognized morphological clues have been proposed. Here, by integrative analyses of morphology and DNA sequences of numerous populations of a rare genus Cornechiniscus, we show that this hypothesized classification is artificial. Specifically, we demonstrate that Echiniscinae are diphyletic, as Bryodelphax forms a distinct phyletic lineage within Echiniscidae, and Pseudechiniscinae are polyphyletic, with Mopsechiniscus being indirectly related to Pseudechiniscus, which is closer to the Echiniscus-like genera than to other genera with pseudosegmental plates. Consequently, the

SUBMITTER: Gasiorek P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7353990 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature