| Abstract |
We examined segmentation patterns in 139 specimens of all currently known species of
Remipedia. The trunks of remipedes are not always homonomous, i.e., with all their somites
isomorphic in form. Some species exhibit somite heteromorphy, especially in regard to the anatomy
of sternal bars. Furthermore, while the total numbers of trunk somites can be quite variable amongst
Remipedia, there appears to be a lower limit of 16 somites in two species, Godzilliognomus frondosus
Yager, 1989 and a new, undescribed taxon. Our data do not confirm that there is an upper limit of
body sizes and/or the number of trunk somites in remipedes. Three stages of development have
been recognized: juvenile, sub-adult, and adult. However, there are no reliable criteria to define any
of these stages. Herein, we describe and define three true juvenile specimens of Godzilliognomus
frondosus. At present no “larvae” are known, but it is not clear whether this is due to limitations of
collecting tiny forms that may be living on or in bottom sediments, or whether remipedes develop
epimorphically and hatch at a relatively advanced juvenile stage. |
