Unravelling a Taxonomic Puzzle: Reinstating the South African Scolelepis capensis as distinct from Scolelepis squamata (Annelida: Spionidae) Author Smith, Lee Vernon 0009-0000-7806-1725 Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa Author Kara, Jyothi 0000-0003-2961-1713 Department of Conservation and Marine Science, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa Author Simon, Carol Anne 0000-0001-9613-5222 Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7600, South Africa csimon@sun.ac.za text Zootaxa 2025 2025-12-16 5729 3 401 424 https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5729.3.1 journal article 313824 10.11646/zootaxa.5729.3.1 2a2314e7-8b78-4e41-b05f-619b1551092e 1175-5326 18018740 6BC0B4F4-A3F6-4FAD-959C-42D92DEDF8DC

TABLE 2. PCR Thermal cycling conditions for three genes: COI, 18S and 28S used to amplify Scolelepis specimens from South Africa, adapted from Surugiu et al. (2022).

		No. of cycles
Gene	Initial denaturation	Denaturation	Annealing	Extension	Final Extension
COI			38
	94°C—3 mins	94°C—30s	46°C—45s	72°C—1min	72°C—5min
18S			40
	94°C—3 mins	94°C—30s	51°C—45s	72°C—1.5min	72°C—5min
28S			40
	94°C—5 mins	94°C—20s	52°C—45s	72°C—1.5min	72°C—5min