Title |
The Acoela: on their kind and kinships, especially with nemertodermatids and xenoturbellids (Bilateria incertae sedis)
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Published in |
Organisms Diversity & Evolution, September 2012
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DOI | 10.1007/s13127-012-0112-4 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Johannes G. Achatz, Marta Chiodin, Willi Salvenmoser, Seth Tyler, Pedro Martinez |
Abstract |
Acoels are among the simplest worms and therefore have often been pivotal in discussions of the origin of the Bilateria. Initially thought primitive because of their "planula-like" morphology, including their lumenless digestive system, they were subsequently dismissed by many morphologists as a specialized clade of the Platyhelminthes. However, since molecular phylogenies placed them outside the Platyhelminthes and outside all other phyla at the base of the Bilateria, they became the focus of renewed debate and research. We review what is currently known of acoels, including information regarding their morphology, development, systematics, and phylogenetic relationships, and put some of these topics in a historical perspective to show how the application of new methods contributed to the progress in understanding these animals. Taking all available data into consideration, clear-cut conclusions cannot be made; however, in our view it becomes successively clearer that acoelomorphs are a "basal" but "divergent" branch of the Bilateria. |
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Geographical breakdown
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Japan | 4 | 67% |
Thailand | 1 | 17% |
Unknown | 1 | 17% |
Demographic breakdown
Type | Count | As % |
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Members of the public | 6 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
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United Kingdom | 2 | 2% |
Germany | 1 | 1% |
Chile | 1 | 1% |
Brazil | 1 | 1% |
Norway | 1 | 1% |
Belgium | 1 | 1% |
Spain | 1 | 1% |
Unknown | 88 | 92% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
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Student > Master | 20 | 21% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 17 | 18% |
Student > Bachelor | 11 | 11% |
Researcher | 9 | 9% |
Professor | 7 | 7% |
Other | 17 | 18% |
Unknown | 15 | 16% |
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Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 13 | 14% |
Environmental Science | 5 | 5% |
Earth and Planetary Sciences | 4 | 4% |
Arts and Humanities | 1 | 1% |
Other | 5 | 5% |
Unknown | 17 | 18% |