title: The mitochondrial genome of Colossendeis megalonyx supports a basal position of Colossendeidae within the Pycnogonida.
abstract: We present the almost complete (16,007 bp) mitochondrial genome of a Colossendeis megalonyx specimen from the Southern Ocean and discuss gene order and tRNA structure in a comparative phylogenetic context. Our data suggest a basal position of the colossendeid lineage corroborating earlier phylogenetic studies but disagreeing with results of a recently published study that supported a highly derived sister-group relationship of Colossendeidae and Nymphonidae. Our results, together with BLAST searches and phylogenetic comparisons, indicate that the specimen presented as Colossendeis sp. in a series of recent studies had been misidentified. It has now been identified as a nymphonid species.
authors.affiliation: Ruhr Universität Bochum, Evolutionsökologie und Biodiversität der Tiere, Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: Claudia P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Arango
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Leese
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D023061:Gene Order; D054629:Genome, Mitochondrial; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010802:Phylogeny; D012343:RNA, Transfer / Q000737:chemistry; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D012343:RNA, Transfer