|
|
Article: Molecular investigations into the phylogenetic position of the chaetognaths. (Abstracts of Papers).(Abstract)
- Article from:
- Pacific Science
- Article date:
- April 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 University of Hawaii Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Chaetognaths, or arrowworms, are small marine invertebrates, ubiquitous in the zoo-plankton in all the world's oceans. For centuries, the position of this phylum within Metazoa has been enigmatic at best, having been allied with a wide variety of other phyla, due to a variety of confusing morphological and developmental characters. Although most invertebrate textbooks place the chaetognaths within the deuterostomes, molecular evidence from the last eight years suggests that this placement is inaccurate, though no clear consensus exists in the literature as to their true affiliation within Metazoa. Recent work involving a "total evidence" approach combining morphological, ...