Greg Rouse, Ph.D.
South Australian Museum & 
School of Environmental & Earth Sciences
The University of Adelaide

Monday, August 4, 2003
Pacific Forum – 2:00 p.m. 

Trochophores: New ideas on the evolution and reproduction of larval forms

Several theories on the ancestry and 
function of larval forms of marine 
invertebrates exists. Some consider the trochophore larva to be a feeding larva with a particular anatomy that represents the ancestral larval form for several metazoan phyla such as annelids and molluscs (=protostomes).  However, the term “trochophore” is often more broadly applied to larvae that do not feed. The first part of this talk will be an analysis of whether the trochophore (in a strict sense)
is a primitive form for protostomes                 A classic trochophore larva
as a whole, or for smaller groups such as 
polychaetes.  The evolution of feeding larvae, in a more general sense, will also be assessed. Greg Rouse will present support for the statements that non-feeding larvae are in fact primitive for polychaetes and protostomes and that feeding larvae have evolved often.  With this discovery, several problems arise regarding existing prominent theories about animal evolution.

Understanding and using the new PhyloCode

Due to the frequent detection of new  marine organisms, understanding and utilizing the PhyloCode is essential for all researchers.  PhyloCode, the new code of taxonomic nomenclature, is due to begin in 2005–and this code will either replace the Linnean system of nomenclature or run in parallel.  This presentation will explain the features of PhyloCode and why it is more useful for taxonomy, especially with the 
                  whale worm              description of new species. One
                                          such species, discovered here in
                                          Monterey Bay, will be presented with
                                          an overview of PhyloCode.

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