Phylogeny of hydrothermal vent Iphionidae, with the description of a new species (Aphroditiformia, Annelida)

The scale-worm family Iphionidae consists of four genera. Of these, has two accepted species, both native to hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean; Miura, 1994 (West Pacific) and Hartmann-Schröder, 1992 (East Pacific Rise). is also known from the Pacific, and has two recognized species; Pettibone, 1986 (East Pacific Rise, hydrothermal vents) and Pettibone, 1986 (West Pacific, deep sea). In this study, phylogenetic analyses of Iphionidae from various hydrothermal vent systems of the Pacific Ocean were conducted utilizing morphology and mitochondrial (COI and 16S rRNA) and nuclear (18S and 28S rRNA) genes. The results revealed a new iphionid species, described here as The analyses also demonstrated the paraphyly of , requiring to be referred to the genus, as (Pettibone, 1986).