A phylogenetic analysis of the Phreodrilidae (Annelida, Oligochaeta), with a description of a new species

Abstract

A combination of computerized and classical methods suggests that the Phreodrilidae be classified as a monophyletic family with two subfamilies, Phreodrilinae subfam.nov. and Phreodriloidinae subfam.nov. The former includes the genera Phreodrilus and Antarctodrilus gen.nov. and the latter the genera Phreodriloides, Insulodrilus gen.nov., Schizodrilus, and Astacopsidrilus. The new species Astacopsidrilus jamiesoni is similar to its congeners except that the atria and vasa deferentia are short and joined together basally. The spermathecal ampullae are distinctly paired in A. jamiesoni, but there may be some degree of fusion of the ampullae in the two other ectocommensal species. One of the latter may have dorsal chaetae restricted to the posterior segments. Astacopsidrilus novus supposedly has two pairs of testes (in X–XI), and the atria are elongate, unlike those of A. jamiesoni. Astacopsidrilus novus also has more dorsal chaetae in anterior bundles than A. jamiesoni.