Is Gymnophallus Odhner, 1900 (Trematoda: Gymnophallidae) polyphyletic? A new hypothesis based on phylogenetic position of Gymnophallus deliciosus (Olsson, 1893).

Gymnophallus deliciosus is a type species of the genus Gymnophallus. We collected this trematode species from gallbladder of Larus argentatus caught in the White Sea (Kandalaksha Bay, Chupa Inlet) and obtained the sequences of its nuclear 18S and 28S rDNA genes. Our recently obtained phylogenetic data support a sister group relationship of this species with G. choledochus. However, other species of the genus Gymnophallus-G. australis (KM246854) and G. minutus (KM268111)-do not branch with the group G. choledochus + G. deliciosus or with each other. Our study revealed that the genus Gynmnophallus is probably a polyphyletic taxon, and the genus affiliation of its representatives should be re-examined in future.