Phylogeny of the digonoporid Proseriata

Abstract

From a comparative study of the ultrastructure of the hard parts in the copulatory organ of the Proseriata, E. Martens (1984) concluded for the monocelidid genera she studied that in all except the genus <i>Archimonocelis</i>, the spines and styles are basal lamina differentiations: the autapomorphy for the monophylum Monocelididae.<i>Archimonocelis</i> has intracellular hard parts as in all other Proseriata, clearly the plesiomorphic condition. At the same time it was also found from a karyological viewpoint that there are arguments that <i>Archimonocelis</i> does not belong to the Monocelididae at all.