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Multivariate analysis of morphometric differentiation within the Laonice cirrata‐group (Polychaeta, Spionidae)
Author(s) -
ORRHAGE LARS,
SUNDBERG PER
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
zoologica scripta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1463-6409
pISSN - 0300-3256
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-6409.1990.tb00252.x
Subject(s) - biology , spionidae , principal component analysis , zoology , correspondence analysis , multivariate statistics , taxonomy (biology) , multivariate analysis , evolutionary biology , ecology , statistics , polychaete , mathematics
Principal component, and canonical variate analysis based on six characters show that there are morphological differences between three Laonice forms (L. bahusiensis, L. sarsi, and Laonice sp.). This supports Söderström's division of L. cirrata into four species; a decision often questioned by other taxonomists. We cannot exclude the possibility that the morphological differences are caused by polymorphism or seasonal variation within a single species. There is, however, no information to vindicate this and we conclude that the three forms should be regarded as separate species until this hypothesis can be rejected.