Phylogenetic study on Proales daphnicola Thompson, 1892 (Proalidae) and its relocation to Epiphanes (Rotifera: Epiphanidae)

Within Rotifera, many morphological, taxonomic and phylogenetic questions still remain unanswered. Many families and genera have only poor phylogenetic support and classification is doubtful in a large number of species. To address these problems, a comprehensive reinvestigation of various species is necessary, especially for families such as Proalidae, in which several species have frequently been moved in and out. Here, we reinvestigated the species Proales daphnicola using light and electron microscopical techniques as well as morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses in order to evaluate its phylogenetic position. Based on our results, we reassign P. daphnicola to Epiphanes and give a redescription of Epiphanes daphnicola (Thompson, 1892) n. comb. As a consequence of this conclusion, we also reassign Proales kostei to Epiphanes.