Podarkeopsischinensis sp. nov. (Annelida, Hesionidae) from southeastern China

Podarkeopsis chinensis sp. nov. ( Annelida , Hesionidae ) is described based on specimens collected from the coast of southeast China. It is the first Podarkeopsis species described from the Indo-Pacific, although there are already nine valid Podarkeopsis species known from other parts of the world. This new species can be distinguished from the other Podarkeopsis species in having a palpostyle as long as the palpophore and double aciculae in both notopodia and neuropodia, and in bearing bifid furcate chaetae which have a smooth base on the shorter tine. A phylogenetic analysis based on the concatenated sequences of five gene fragments ( COI , 16S rRNA , 18S rRNA , 28S rRNA , and histone H3 ) from 18 specimens of P. chinensis sp. nov. showed that they formed a monophyletic clade that is sister to P. levifuscina . K2P genetic distances indicated that the four gene fragments ( COI , 16S rRNA , 18S rRNA , and 28S rRNA ) of P. chinensis sp. nov. diverged from the corresponding sequences of the closest related species of Podarkeopsis in GenBank and BOLD Systems by 21.1–27.5%, 20.3–23.1%, 0.1–0.2%, and 2.1–3.2%. An identification key is provided for species in the genus Podarkeopsis .