Flotidae Explained

Flotidae is a family of pelagic polychaete worms, sometimes synonymized with Flabelligeridae, which they closely resemble. Other sources consider them the sister taxon to Flabelligeridae and closely allied to the latter group.^{[1] [2]}

Taxonomy

Flotidae originally contained one genus, Flota, from which it derives its name, but a 2007 study also placed Buskiella in the family, and moved all (two) Flota species to Buskiella.^{[3] [4]} The family would thus contains one genus and three species, listed below.

• Buskiella abyssorum McIntoch, 1885
• Buskiella flabelligera (Hartman, 1967) formerly Flota flabelligera
• Buskiella vitjasi (Buzhinskaja, 1977) formerly Flota vitjasi

Similarities and differences with Flabelligeridae

A 2008 paper analyzing the phylogenetics of flotid polychaetes found that flotids are nested within Flabelligeridae. However, defenders of the separate family status of Flotidae cite several morphological differences.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Zhadan, A. E., and A. B. Tzetlin. "Polychaetes from deep pelagic zone of the Mid-Atlantic ridge." Invertebr. Zool 5 (2008): 97-109.
2. Osborn . Karen J. . Rouse . Greg W. . 2008-10-01 . Multiple origins of pelagicism within Flabelligeridae (Annelida) . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . en . 49 . 1 . 386–392 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2008.05.042 . 18588991 . 1055-7903.
3. Salazar-V. allejo . S. I. . Carrera-P. arra . L. F. . Fauchald . K. . 2008 . Phylogenetic affinities of the Flabelligeridae (Annelida, Polychaeta) . Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research . 46 . 3 . 203–215 . 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2008.00464.x . English . 0947-5745.
4. Salazar-Vallejo . S. I. . Zhadan . A. E. . Jan 2007 . Revision of Buskiella McIntosh, 1885 (including Flota Hartman, 1967), and description of its trifid organ (Polychaeta: Flotidae) . Invertebrate Zoology . ru . 4 . 1 . 65–82 . 10.15298/invertzool.04.1.06 . 1812-9250. free .
5. Buzhinskaja . Galina N. . 2006 . On the morphology of the genus Flota Hartman, 1967 and corroboration of the family status of Flotidae Buzhinskaja, 1996 (Polychaeta) . Zoosystematica Rossica . . 15 . 1. 7–17 . 10.31610/zsr/2006.15.1.7 .