Examples of potential misidentifications, contaminations or cases in which a taxonomic re-evaluation resulted in a corroboration of the molecular results obtained using DNA barcoding.

Footnote 1. The original sample NIWA 37922 is a specimen of Bathydorus spinosus Schulze, a hexactinellid species. A second species was found in the original specimen lot, removed, and given the new accession number NIWA 52801. Re-examination of NIWA 52801 confirms the identity as Suberites caminatus and not as a haplosclerid taxon. All artifact material in the containers have been checked for contaminating taxa. The original subsampled specimen lot is clear of all additional contaminants.
Footnote 2. NIWA 29019 was identified as a species of Tentorium (Hadromerida, Polymastiidae) as it is very similar to other species such as T. semisuberites (Schmidt) forming a vertical cylinder-like palisade of strongyloxeas. NIWA 29019 differs from T. semisuberites in that it forms a single stiff spike arising from the substrate. The spicules are extremely long subtylostyles and strongyloxeas up to 4000 μm, with some shorter subtylostyles. Dictyonellidae contains some genera with strongyloxea-like spicules but in a very different arrangement to that of NIWA 29019. While this barcode discrepancy may be taken to suggest an alternative classification for this taxon, we find the similarity to species of Tentorium overwhelming, and the suggestion that the taxon is a dictyonellid taxa, extremely unlikely.
Examples of potential misidentifications, contaminations or cases in which a taxonomic re-evaluation resulted in a corroboration of the molecular results obtained using DNA barcoding.