The phylogenetic position of the Aeolosomatidae and Parergodrilidae, two enigmatic oligochaete-like taxa of the `Polychaeta', based on molecular data from 18S rDNA sequences

Abstract

The Aeolosomatidae and the Parergodrilidae are meiofaunal Annelida showing different combinations of clitellate-like and non-clitellate character states. Their phylogenetic positions and their systematic status within the Annelida are still in debate. Here we attempt to infer their systematic position using 18S rDNA sequences of the aeolosomatid Aeolosoma sp. and the parergodrilid Stygocapitella subterranea and several other meiofaunal taxa such as the Dinophilidae, Polygordiidae and Saccocirridae. The data matrix was complemented by sequences from several annelid, arthropod and molluscan species. After evaluation of the phylogenetic signal the data set was analysed with maximum-parsimony, distance and maximum-likelihood algorithms. Sequences from selected arthropods or molluscs were chosen for outgroup comparison. The resolution of the resulting phylogenies is discussed in comparison to previous studies. The results do not unequivocally support a sister-group relationship of Aeolosoma sp. and the Clitellata. Instead, depending on the algorithms applied, Aeolosoma clusters in various clades within the polychaetes, for instance, together with eunicidan species, the Dinophilidae, Harmothoe impar or Nereis limbata . The position of Aeolosoma sp. thus cannot be resolved on the basis of the data available. S. subterranea always falls close to a cluster comprising Scoloplos armiger , Questa paucibranchiata and Magelona mirabilis , all of which were resolved as not closely related to both Aeolosoma sp. and the Clitellata. Therefore, convergent evolution of clitellate-like characters in S. subterranea and hence in the Parergodrilidae is suggested by our phylogenetic analysis. Moreover, the Clitellata form a monophyletic clade within the paraphyletic polychaetes.