DALY, M.; Univ. Kansas: Phylogeny and Biogeography of Anthopleura in the North Atlantic Ocean

The dynamics of the distribution of the sea anemone genus Anthopleura in the North Atlantic, and possible underlying causes for this distribution are discussed as part of a phylogenetic analysis of morphological data. The tree shows geographic structure: one clade includes species found only in the Northern Hemisphere, and the other includes widespread species and species found in the Southern Hemisphere. Although all of the North Atlantic species of Anthopleura are part of the Northern Hemisphere clade, none of them one another�s closet relative Anthopleura is polyphyletic with respect to Bunodosoma; the defining characteristics of Anthopleura are primitive features, some of which are modified in members of Bunodosoma.