A Phylogenetic Analysis of Higher Taxa In the Phylum Sipuncula

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Abstract
Taxonomic characters (12) of the genera in the phylum of marine worms, Sipuncula, are examined and polarities assigned to the various states. A hypothetical ancestral sipunculan is proposed and probable evolutionary pathways are presented. The PHYLIP "Camin-Sokal" and the PAUP "Wagner" parsimony programs are used, as well as Dice''s similarity coefficient and UPGMA cluster analysis. These provided both cladistic and a hybrid phenetic/cladistic analyses. Only 5 of the 12 characters are clearly not homoplastic. While monophyly is not demonstrated in all cases, the 17 genera are now grouped into 6 families, 4 orders and 2 classes as a result of using evolutionary, phenetic and phylogenetic methodologies. The selective removal of homoplastic characters within the 2 classes did not significantly alter the composition of the orders or families. The evident congruence among these methods affirms the value of a synthetic approach.

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