Meeting Abstract

S8-1.4  Saturday, Jan. 5  Development, Genes and Decapod Evolution SCHOLTZ, Gerhard; Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin gerhard.scholtz@rz.hu-berlin.de

The analysis of complex spatiotemporal developmental patterns delivers a number of characters that can be useful for inferences on phylogeny and evolution. In addition the morphological nature of adult structures can be revealed based on ontogenetic studies. This is also true for decapod crustaceans. However, this treasure is still awaiting in a large part its detection. In my talk I will review the current state of knowledge about early cleavage patterns, gene expression, germ band formation, morphogenesis, naupliar development, and other developmental traits in decapods. Among other issues, current hypotheses on the sister-group relationships of Decapoda, the monophyly of major decapod taxa, and aspects of the evolution of tagmatisation and limb formation are discussed in the light of recent findings.