A molecular phylogeny of the Rapaninae and Ergalataxinae (Neogastropoda: Muricidae)

The previous phylogenetic hypotheses for Rapaninae, a large and taxonomically perplexing subfamily of the Muricidae, have been based on morphological characters. These studies concluded that the subfamily is distinct from the Ocenebrinae and that some ‘ergalataxine’ muricids are contained within the Rapaninae. We tested these hypotheses using DNA sequence data (one mitochondrial and one nuclear gene) from 35 species across the Muricidae. The monophyly of the Rapaninae and Ergalataxinae is supported, but relationships among these and other muricid subfamilies are not resolved. We discuss phylogeny of the sampled genera within the Rapaninae and Ergalataxinae, and show that Thais (Rapaninae) and Morula (Ergalataxinae) are polyphyletic.