PHYLOGENETIC TAXONOMY, SPECIES, AND A REVISION OF HETEROPODARKE (ANNELIDA, POLYCHAETA, HESIONIDAE)
Pleijel, F.
Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, S-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden. Address for correspondence: Tjärnö Marine Biological Laboratory, S-452 96 Strömstad, Sweden
Cladistic relationships between six members of the hesionid polychaetes Heteropodarke are assessed in a parsimony analysis based on 34 absent/present coded morphological characters. Taxon names are defined with apomorphy-based phylogenetic definitions, without reference to Linnean ranks or types. A species concept (or lack thereof) is applied, "species-as-other-taxa", which treats also the least inclusive monophyletic groups identically to all other clades. Linnean binominal species names are omitted and all taxa are assigned uninomina. Previously known members of Heteropodarke (Africana Hartmann-Schröder, 1974; Formalis, Perkins, 1984; Heteromorpha Hartmann-Schröder, 1962; Lyonsi Perkins, 1984; Xiamenensis Ding, Wu & Westheide, 1997) are re-examined, and Bidentata and Zmyrina, both new taxa, are described from Papua New Guinea and Belize. The new taxon Crassichaetae is named for Heteropodarke members provided with enlarged, anteriorly situated falcigers (Africana, Heteromorpha, Lyonsi and Xiamenensis). Within this taxon Africana and Heteromorpha are considered as incertae sedis. (Note: Formatting of scientific names as requested by the author)