Revision of the Archiloa genus complex with description of seven new Archilina species (Platyhelminthes, Proseriata) from the Mediterranean

Abstract

Based on morphological and karyological investigations, the genus complex Archiloa sensu Karling (1966) is revised. The group contains seven genera, two of which are here described as new: Archiloa de Beauchamp, 1910, Archilopsis Meixner, 1938, Mesoda Marcus, 1949, Monocelopsis Ax, 1951, Archilina Ax, 1959, Inaloa gen. n., and Tajikina gen. n. The genus Pistrix Marcus, 1951 is synonymized with Mesoda Marcus, 1949. Eleven species are transferred to other genera. Seven new Archilina species are described from the Mediterranean: A. brachycirrus, A. deceptoria, A. etrusca, A. palestinica, A. selenifera, A. biselenifera, and A. caliban. Two distinct “morphs” are recognized within A. endostyla Ax, 1959. The genus Archilina now contains 12 species, 8 of which occur in the Mediterranean. The karyotypes of the eight Mediterranean species are known; all of them have the basic karyotype for the Monocelididae. Within the Mediterranean, some sister-group relationships among the Archilina species could be recognized. They are probably the result of independent evolutionary lines from ancestral Archilina species.