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The evolutionary relationships of rotifers and acanthocephalans

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Abstract

Advances in morphological and molecular studies of metazoan evolution have led to a better understanding of the relationships among Rotifera (Monogononta, Bdelloidea, Seisonidea) and Acanthocephala, and their relationships to other bilateral animals. The most accepted morphological analysis places Acanthocephala as a sister group to Rotifera, although other studies have placed Acanthocephala as a sister taxon to Bdellodea or Seisonidea. Molecular analyses using nuclear 18S rRNA and mitochondrial 16S rRNA genes support Acanthocephala as a sister taxon to Bdelloidea, although no molecular data is available for Seisonidea. Combining molecular and morphological analyses of Bilateria leads to a tree with Platyhelminthes, Rotifera, Acanthocephala and Gnathostomulida (and probably Gastrotricha) as a sister group to the annelid-mollusc lineage of the Spiralia (Lophotrochozoa).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1Department of Biology, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, SCA 110 Tampa, FL, 33620-5150, U.S.A. (*author for correspondence)

    James R. Garey & Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa

  2. Illinois Natural History Survey, 2Center for Biodiversity, Champaign, IL, 61820, U.S.A

    Thomas J. Near

  3. 3Department of Nematology, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616-8668, U.S.A

    Steven A. Nadler

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  1. James R. Garey
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  4. Steven A. Nadler
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Garey, J.R., Schmidt-Rhaesa, A., Near, T.J. et al. The evolutionary relationships of rotifers and acanthocephalans. Hydrobiologia 387, 83–91 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017060902909

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