ABSTRACT
Both cladistic methodology and molccular data were slow to be implemented in cestode systematics, and have been applied inequitably among the major lineages within the class (Mariaux 1996). With regard to molecular techniques, enzyme-based works were first applied to cestodes around 1980 (e.g., Le Riche and Sewell 1978; Renaud et al. 1983) and works based on DNA sequences first appeared in the 1990s (e.g., Bowles et al. 1992). In recent years, however, molecular systematics studies on cestodes have been accumulating with increasing speed. The listing of such works in a separate 'Molecular and biochemical taxonomy' section of Helminthological Abstracts since 1990 illustrates this trend. Here, we examine the diversity of methodological approaches used and the taxonomie groups that have been investigated, review the main progress attained with such methods, and propose directions for future work. Although not exhaustive, we have attempted to summarize the majority of systematic works on cestodes utilizing molecular data.
