Polynoidae Kinberg, 1856 has five branchiate genera:
Branchipolynoe Pettibone, 1984,
Branchinotogluma Pettibone, 1985,
Branchiplicatus Pettibone, 1985,
Peinaleopolynoe Desbruyères & Laubier, 1988, and
Thermopolynoe Miura, 1994, all native to deep-sea, chemosynthetic-based habitats. Of these,
Peinaleopolynoe has two accepted species;
Peinaleopolynoe sillardi Desbruyères & Laubier, 1988 (Atlantic Ocean) and
Peinaleopolynoe santacatalina Pettibone, 1993 (East Pacific Ocean). The goal of this study was to assess the phylogenetic position of
Peinaleopolynoe, utilizing DNA sequences from a broad sampling of deep-sea polynoids. Representatives from all five branchiate genera were included, several species of which were sampled from near the type localities;
Branchinotogluma sandersi Pettibone, 1985 from the Galápagos Rift (E/V “Nautilus”);
Peinaleopolynoe sillardi from organic remains in the Atlantic Ocean;
Peinaleopolynoe santacatalina from a whalefall off southern California (R/V “Western Flyer”) and
Thermopolynoe branchiata Miura, 1994 from Lau Back-Arc Basin in the western Pacific (R/V “Melville”). Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using mitochondrial (COI, 16S rRNA, and CytB) and nuclear (18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, and H3) genes. The analyses revealed four new
Peinaleopolynoe species from the Pacific Ocean that are formally described here:
Peinaleopolynoe orphanae Hatch & Rouse,
sp. nov., type locality Pescadero Basin in the Gulf of California, Mexico (R/V “Western Flyer”);
Peinaleopolynoe elvisi Hatch & Rouse,
sp. nov. and
Peinaleopolynoe goffrediae Hatch & Rouse,
sp. nov., both with a type locality in Monterey Canyon off California (R/V “Western Flyer”) and
Peinaleopolynoe mineoi Hatch & Rouse,
sp. nov. from Costa Rica methane seeps (R/V “Falkor”). In addition to DNA sequence data, the monophyly of
Peinaleopolynoe is supported by the presence of ventral papillae on segments 12–15. The results also demonstrated the paraphyly of
Branchinotogluma and
Lepidonotopodium Pettibone, 1983 and taxonomic revision of these genera is required. We apply the subfamily name Lepidonotopodinae Pettibone 1983, for the clade comprised of
Branchipolynoe,
Branchinotogluma,
Bathykurila,
Branchiplicatus,
Lepidonotopodium,
Levensteiniella Pettibone, 1985,
Thermopolynoe, and
Peinaleopolynoe.