Molecular Evidence for Inclusion on the Phylum Pentastomida in the Crustacea

Authors

Lawrence G. Abele, Florida State University
Won Kim, Seoul National University
Bruce E. Felgenhauer, University of Southwestern Louisiana

Date of this Version

1989

Document Type

Article

Citation

Molecular Biology and Evolution (1989) 6(6): 685-691.

Comments

Open access license: CC BY

Abstract

The phylogenetic status of the phylum Pentastomida (tongue worms) was considered on the basis of comparison of nucleotide sequences of 18S ribosomal RNA from the pentastome Porocephalus crotali, the branchiuran crustacean fish louse Argulus nobilis, other crustaceans, and representatives of the Annelida, Chelicerata, Myriapoda, and Insecta. Maximum parsimony and invariants (at P < 0.04) analyses support an Argulus/Porocephalus clade, providing strong support for the proposal that tongue worms are highly modified crustaceans closely related to fish lice.