An evolutionary comparative analysis of the medusozoan (Cnidaria) exoskeleton

Author(s)

Mendoza-Becerril, Maria A. ; Maronna, Maximiliano M. ; Pacheco, Mirian L. A. F. ; Simoes, Marcello G. ; Leme, Juliana M. ; Miranda, Lucilia S. ; Morandini, Andre C. ; Marques, Antonio C.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY; v. 178, n. 2, p. 20-pg., 2016-10-01.

Abstract

The benthic polyp phase of Medusozoa (Staurozoa, Cubozoa, Scyphozoa, and Hydrozoa) has endoskeletal or exoskeletal support systems, but their composition, development, and evolution is poorly known. In this contribution the variation in synthesis, structure, and function of the medusozoan exoskeleton was examined. In addition, an evolutionary hypothesis for its origin and diversification is proposed for both extinct and extant medusozoans. We also critically reviewed the literature and included data from our own histological and microstructural analyses of some groups. Chitin is a characteristic component of exoskeleton in Medusozoa, functioning as support, protection, and a reserve for various ions and inorganic and organic molecules, which may persuade biomineralization, resulting in rigid biomineralized exoskeletons. Skeletogenesis in Medusozoa dates back to the Ediacaran, when potentially synergetic biotic, abiotic, and physiological processes resulted in development of rigid structures that became the exoskeleton. Of the many types of exoskeletons that evolved, the corneous (chitin-protein) exoskeleton predominates today in polyps of medusozoans, with its greatest variation and complexity in the polyps of Hydroidolina. A new type of bilayered exoskeleton in which there is an exosarc complementing the perisarc construction is here described. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 04/09961-4 - Biodiversity, evolution, endemism and conservation of the Medusozoa from the Southwestern Atlantic
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Marques
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/50242-5 - Dimensions of marine life: patterns and process of diversifications in planktonic and benthic cnidarians
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Marques
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 13/50484-4 - Biodiversity and distribution patterns of the Medusozoa form the South-Western Atlantic
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Marques
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 09/02312-4 - Morphological reconstitution and systematic analysis of Corumbella werneri Hahn et al. 1982 (Tamengo Formation, Ediacaran, Corumbá Group), Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: paleoecological and taphonomical implications.
• Grantee: Mírian Liza Alves Forancelli Pacheco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 10/06927-0 - Biodiversity and areas of endemism of benthic hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from southern South America and Antarctica
• Grantee: Thaís Pires Miranda
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 10/50174-7 - Systematics, life cycle and reproductive patterns of jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Medusozoa: Cubozoa and Scyphozoa) in the Baixada Santista (São Paulo, Brazil)
• Grantee: André Carrara Morandini
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants