Published in

Nature Research, Nature Communications, 1(4), 2013

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms2556

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Xenoturbella bocki exhibits direct development with similarities to Acoelomorpha

Journal article published in 2013 by Hiroaki Nakano, Kennet Lundin, Sarah J. Bourlat, Maximilian J. Telford, Peter Funch ORCID, Jens R. Nyengaard, Matthias Obst, Michael C. Thorndyke
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.
This paper is made freely available by the publisher.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Upload
Red circle
Postprint: archiving forbidden
Green circle
Published version: archiving allowed
Upload
Policy details
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

Xenoturbella bocki, a marine animal with a simple body plan, has recently been suggested to be sister group to the Acoelomorpha, together forming the new phylum Xenacoelomorpha. The phylogenetic position of the phylum is still under debate, either as an early branching bilaterian or as a sister group to the Ambulacraria (hemichordates and echinoderms) within the deuterostomes. Although development has been described for several species of Acoelomorpha, little is known about the life cycle of Xenoturbella. Here we report the embryonic stages of Xenoturbella, and show that it is a direct developer without a feeding larval stage. This mode of development is similar to that of the acoelomorphs, supporting the newly proposed phylum Xenacoelomorpha and suggesting that the last common ancestor of the phylum might have been a direct developer.