Nothing in (sponge) biology makes sense – except when based on holotypes

Sponge species are infamously difficult to identify for non-experts due to their high morphological plasticity and the paucity of informative morphological characters. The use of molecular techniques certainly helps with species identification, but unfortunately it requires prior reference sequences...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2016-03, Vol.96 (2), p.305-311
Main Authors: Erpenbeck, Dirk, Ekins, Merrick, Enghuber, Nicole, Hooper, John N.A., Lehnert, Helmut, Poliseno, Angelo, Schuster, Astrid, Setiawan, Edwin, De Voogd, Nicole J., Wörheide, Gert, Van Soest, Rob W.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biology
Case studies
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
Evolution
Holotypes
Marine
Morphology
Museums
Phylogenetics
Reference materials
Systematics
Taxonomy
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Summary:Sponge species are infamously difficult to identify for non-experts due to their high morphological plasticity and the paucity of informative morphological characters. The use of molecular techniques certainly helps with species identification, but unfortunately it requires prior reference sequences. Holotypes constitute the best reference material for species identification, however their usage in molecular systematics and taxonomy is scarce and frequently not even attempted, mostly due to their antiquity and preservation history. Here we provide case studies in which we demonstrate the importance of using holotype material to answer phylogenetic and taxonomic questions. We also demonstrate the possibility of sequencing DNA fragments out of century-old holotypes. Furthermore we propose the deposition of DNA sequences in conjunction with new species descriptions.
ISSN:0025-3154
1469-7769
DOI:10.1017/S0025315415000521