Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Stohr S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5091845 | biostudies-literature | 2016
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Stöhr Sabine S Martynov Alexander A
PloS one 20161102 11
Heterochronic development has been proposed to have played an important role in the evolution of echinoderms. In the class Ophiuroidea, paedomorphosis (retention of juvenile characters into adulthood) has been documented in the families Ophiuridae and Ophiolepididae but not been investigated on a broader taxonomic scale. Historical errors, confusing juvenile stages with paedomorphic species, show the difficulties in correctly identifying the effects of heterochrony on development and evolution. ...[more]