First reports of G rania ( C litellata: E nchytraeidae) from A frica and S outh A merica: molecular phylogeny and descriptions of nine new species

I n this article, our knowledge of the geographic distribution of G rania species is expanded by describing seven new species, Grania bekkouchei  sp. nov. , Grania brasiliensis  sp. nov. , Grania capensis  sp. nov. , Grania chilensis  sp. nov. , Grania cryptica  sp. nov. , Grania hinojosai  sp. nov. , and Grania simonae  sp. nov. , from poorly investigated regions of the S outhern H emisphere, plus two new species, Grania carolinensis  sp. nov. and Grania unitheca  sp. nov. , from off the east coast of the USA . An immature achaetous specimen that we call G rania cf. levis was also included. The newly generated data were combined with a previously published data set in order to update the hypothesis of phylogenetic relationships among G rania species. All new species except G. cryptica  sp. nov. are supported by both morphological and molecular data. In addition, we find that G. chilensis  sp. nov. is structured in at least four distinct populations along the C hilean coast. The species described from S outh A frica form a monophyletic clade where two are morphologically indistinguishable but diverging in both mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal genes, and thus we describe them as different species, G. bekkouchei  sp. nov. and G. cryptica  sp. nov. Among the N orth C arolinian species, G. unitheca  sp. nov. is indicated as a close relative of G rania monospermatheca   E rséus & L asserre, 1976, and G. carolinensis  sp. nov. is indicated as a close relative of G . cf.  levis . The updated phylogeny is strongly concordant with geographical species distributions, thus supporting a low level of dispersal within this genus, as has previously been hypothesized. © 2015 The L innean S ociety of L ondon