Mitochondrial DNA dataset suggest that the genus Sphaerirostris Golvan, 1956 is a synonym of the genus Centrorhynchus Lühe, 1911.

Our present genetic data of Acanthocephala, especially the mitochondrial (mt) genomes, remains very limited. In the present study, the nearly complete mt genome sequences ofSphaerirostris lanceoides(Petrochenko, 1949) was sequenced and determined for the first time based on specimens collected from the Indian pond heronArdeola grayii(Sykes) (Ciconiiformes: Ardeidae) in Pakistan. The mt genome ofS. lanceoidesis 13 478 bp in size and contains 36 genes, including 12 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs) and two ribosomal RNA genes (rRNAs). Moreover, in order to clarify the phylogenetic relationship of the generaCentrorhynchusandSphaerirostris, and to test the systematic position ofS. lanceoidesin the Centrorhynchidae, the phylogenetic analyses were performed using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood methods, based on concatenated nucleotide sequences of 12 PCGs, rRNAs and tRNAs. The phylogenetic results further confirmed the monophyly of the order Polymorphida and the paraphyly of the order Echinorhynchida in the class Palaeacanthocephala. Our results also challenged the validity of the genusSphaerirostris(Polymorphida: Centrorhynchidae) and showed a sister relationship betweenS. lanceoidesandS. picae(Rudolphi, 1819).