Breaking the ladder: Evolution of the ventral nerve cord in Annelida
C. Helm, P. Beckers, T. Bartolomaeus, S. H. Drukewitz, I. Kourtesis, A. Weigert, G. Purschke, K. Worsaae, T. H. Struck, C. Bleidorn
The paper reconstructs the evolution of the annelid ventral nerve cord using phylogenomic and morphological analyses, finding that a subepidermal ladder-like nerve cord is derived, not ancestral.
bioRxiv · Jul 28, 2018 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology