A new nemertean with a branched proboscis, Gorgonorhynchus citrinus sp. nov. (Nemertea: Pilidiophora), with molecular systematics of the genus

Abstract

Among ~1300 species of world nemerteans, seven species in five genera of lineid heteronemerteans have been known to possess a branched proboscis. In this paper, we describe the eighth branched-proboscis species: Gorgonorhynchus citrinus sp. nov. from Okinawa, Japan. We also report Gorgonorhynchus cf. repens Dakin & Fordham, 1931 with uniformly orange body, as a new member for the Japanese nemertean fauna. We infer the phylogenetic relationships between these forms and other members of Lineidae McIntosh, 1874 for which partial sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, and the nuclear 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and histone H3 genes are available in public databases, along with newly sequenced data of another branched-proboscis heteronemertean, Polydendrorhynchus zhanjiangensis (Yin & Zheng, 1984) from China. In the resulting tree, Gorgonorhychus Dakin & Fordham, 1931 was sister group to non-branched-proboscis Dushia Corrêa, 1963, whereas P. zhanjiangensis was sister group to likewise non-branched-proboscis Cerebratulus lacteus (Leidy, 1851). http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:685992C5-F595-4C28-9178-256D945E595A