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Can Skeletal Morphology Support New Molecular Phylogenies Of Antedonidae (Crinoidea: Comatulida)?, Brenna Hays
Can Skeletal Morphology Support New Molecular Phylogenies Of Antedonidae (Crinoidea: Comatulida)?, Brenna Hays
HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations
Antedonidae (Crinoidea: Comatulida) is the largest of extant crinoid families; it currently includes ~155 accepted species in 50 genera and accounts for ~23% of extant crinoid species (~29% of feather stars) and 27% of genera. Molecular phylogenies have returned the family as polyphyletic, with several clades scattered among non-antedonid sister groups (Hemery 2011, Hemery et al. 2013, Rouse et al. in prep.). Traditional morphological characteristics are thus inadequate for reconstructing relationships among taxa. SEM imaging was used in an effort to discover new diagnostic features that will support the molecular data, focusing on skeletal ossicles within the calyx, specifically the …