Molecular systematics of several cyclophyllid families (Cestoda) based on the analysis of 18S ribosomal DNA gene sequences.

The sequences of the 18S small subunit ribosomal DNA of five species of cyclophyllidean cestodes from the families Davaineidae, Anoplocephalidae and Dilepididae were determined. A species of tetrabothridid was also sequenced. These 18S sequences were combined with other available eucestode sequences in GenBank. From the 1,838 sites in the alignment, 375 bp (20%) were excluded from the analysis due to alignment issues inferred by manual inspection. Phylogenetic trees were obtained by maximum parsimony, neighbour-joining distance and maximum likelihood methods. Analyses showed that Cyclophyllidea is monophyletic and separate from Tetrabothrius spp. Lyruterina nigropunctata, which is now included in the family Paruterinidae, is more closely related to davaineids of the genus Raillietina than Pseudidiogenes nana (Davaineidae). P. nana and Choanotaenia infundibulum (Dilepididae) derive from the Davaineidae (or Raillietininae). The two species of Taenia (T. parva and T. pisiformis) formed a monophyletic sister group to the Davaineidae and Anoplocephalidae. The systematics of the Paruterinidae have been problematic and our results suggest a review of this family including other species with paruterine organ located in other families. The position of the Idiogeninae as a subfamily in the Davaineidae is also reviewed. Copyright 2004 Springer-Verlag