A preliminary molecular and morphological phylogeny of the Antarctic Epimeriidae and Iphimediidae (Crustacea, Amphipoda)

The phylogenetic relationships of 14 species of the Antarctic amphipod families Epimeriidae and Iphimediidae were investigated using 553 bp of the gene for the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and 98 morphological characters. Both families are dominant members of the Antarctic benthic amphipod community. In contrast to previous studies, our molecular and morphological data suggest that the families Epimeriidae and Iphimediidae may not be sister taxa. Our study suggests that Iphimediidae are more closely related to Eusirus (Eusiridae) than to Epimeria (Epimeriidae). Phylogenetic analyses based on maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML) indicate that the genera Iphimediella and Gnathiphimedia are not monophyletic