Meeting Abstract
Although the status of Crinoidea (sea lilies and featherstars) as sister group to all other living echinoderms is unquestioned, our understanding of relationships among extant crinoids is poorly understood. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses of crinoids have revealed that major taxonomic revision is required. DNA sequence data for several hundred crinoid species corroborates the hypothesis that the stalked crinoid groups Bourgueticrinina and Guillecrinina are nested among the featherstars (Comatulida). Also, the placement of enigmatic crinoid genera such as Cyathidium and Atopocrinus has been assessed with such sequence data for the first time, and problematic major taxonomic issues within Comatulida are highlighted. Unfortunately, these results show little support for any of the competing hypotheses for the relationships among the major crinoid clades. An analysis of available transcriptomes for 15 crinoids, which span the extant diversity of the group, has allowed such an assessment. From this transcriptome data we have also used a targeted gene-capture approach and next generation sequencing for several hundred loci from more than 60 other crinoids. The methods are outlined and results are reported.
