Molecular and morphological evidence thatPhymactis papillosafrom Argentina is, in fact, a new species of the genusBunodosoma(Cnidaria: Actiniidae)

Abstract

Phymactis papillosais a rocky shore sea anemone that is commonly found in the Pacific Ocean, from the Gulf of California to Tierra del Fuego, and in the Mar del Plata region, Argentina. The genusPhymactisis closely related toBunodosomaand, due to character plasticity, a number of misidentifications have occurred. Therefore, the presence ofP. papillosain Argentina has been doubted but the matter had not been investigated in detail. Here we analyseP. papillosaspecimens from Argentina and compare them, using molecular and morphological markers, to specimens from the species' type locality. In a phylogenetic analysis using 19 allozyme markers and ribosomal internal transcribed spacers sequences of different sea anemone genera, including all West AtlanticBunodosomaspecies, we have found that the specimens from Argentina were genetically divergent fromP. papillosafrom Chile and closely related to West AtlanticBunodosomaspecies. The genetic and morphological analyses indicate that those specimens belong to a new species of the genusBunodosoma, described here asB. zamponiisp. nov.