Kara, Jothi; Molina-Acevedo, Isabel C.; Zanol, Joana; Simon, Carol; Idris, Izwandy. (2020). Morphological and molecular systematic review of Marphysa Quatrefages, 1865 (Annelida: Eunicidae) species from South Africa. PeerJ. 8: e10076.
Morphological and molecular systematic review of Marphysa Quatrefages, 1865 (Annelida: Eunicidae) species from South Africa
PeerJ
8: e10076
Publication
World Polychaeta Database (WPolyD). Marphysa haemasona is misspelled as 'haemasoma' throughout (48 times). The error may first occur in Grube (1870), then Fauvel, 1902, but is not in the Hartman catalogue, where 'haemasona' is listed.
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A vast polychaete fauna is hidden behind complexes of cryptic and pseudo-cryptic
species, which has greatly hindered our understanding of species diversity in several
regions worldwide. Among the eunicids, Marphysa sanguinea Montagu, 1813 is a typical
example, recorded in three oceans and with various species considered its junior
synonyms. In South Africa, specimens previously misidentified as M. sanguinea are
now known as Marphysa elityeni Lewis & Karageorgopoulos, 2008. Of the six Marphysa
Quatrefages, 1865a species recorded from the same region, three have their distributions
restricted to South Africa while the others are considered to have worldwide
distributions. Here, we evaluated the taxonomic status of the indigenous M. elityeni
and investigated the presence of the widespread species Marphysa macintoshi Crossland,
1903 and Marphysa depressa Schmarda, 1861 in South Africa using morphological and
molecular data. Our results reveal that M. elityeni is a junior synonym of Marphysa
haemasoma [sic, error for haemasona], a species previously described from South Africa which is herein reinstated
as a valid species. Both M. macintoshi and M. depressa are not present in South Africa
and their status as being distributed worldwide deserves further investigation. Marphysa
durbanensis Day, 1934 and the new species described here, M. sherlockae n. sp., had
been misidentified as M. macintoshi and M. depressa respectively. Thus, the number
of Marphysa species with distributions restricted to South Africa increased from three
to five. This study reiterates the importance of implementing an integrated taxonomic
framework to unravel local biodiversity.