Acoelomorph flatworms are deuterostomes related to Xenoturbella

Hervé Philippe, Henner Brinkmann, Richard R. Copley, Leonid L. Moroz, Hiroaki Nakano, Albert J. Poustka, Andreas Wallberg, Kevin J. Peterson and Maximilian J. Telford ()
Additional contact information
Hervé Philippe: Centre Robert-Cedergren, Université de Montréal, Succursale Centre-Ville
Henner Brinkmann: Centre Robert-Cedergren, Université de Montréal, Succursale Centre-Ville
Richard R. Copley: Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics
Leonid L. Moroz: University of Florida
Hiroaki Nakano: University of Gothenburg
Albert J. Poustka: Evolution and Development Group, Max-Planck Institut für Molekulare Genetik, Ihnestrasse 73
Andreas Wallberg: Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D
Kevin J. Peterson: Dartmouth College
Maximilian J. Telford: Evolution and Environment, University College London, Darwin Building

Nature, 2011, vol. 470, issue 7333, 255-258

Abstract: Acoel flatworms adopt a simpler life The acoel flatworms are among the simplest animal forms, so simple that they have neither a through-gut nor a body cavity. But new molecular research has pulled them from their basal position in animal evolution, uniting them with creatures such as echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins and the like) and placing them much closer to the chordates, the group that includes humans. This follows previous revelations that Xenoturbella, a simple flatworm with mysterious evolutionary connections, also belonged to this group. The research implies that acoels are not primitively simple, as had been thought, but have become simpler with time, losing features such as a body cavity, anus and gill slits.

Date: 2011
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09676 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:nature:v:470:y:2011:i:7333:d:10.1038_nature09676

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/

DOI: 10.1038/nature09676

Access Statistics for this article

Nature is currently edited by Magdalena Skipper

More articles in Nature from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().