Thematic symposia (10)
Neogastropods constitute a diverse and extremely successful radiation of predatory marine gastropods that appeared abruptly in the fossil record during the Albian (100 mya) with nearly all families represented in essentially modern form by the end of the Cretaceous. While neogastropods are united by and easily recognized on the basis of distinctive shell, radular, and anatomical features, these characters have failed to demonstrate an unambiguous affinity to other gastropods, or to resolve into nested subsets that clearly define evolutionary patterns within the group. Relationships among the many lineages within the Neogastropoda have also been difficult to discern because of high rates of homoplasy and high incidence of derived, autapomorphic features in both morphological and molecular data sets. This symposium will address questions of neogastropod origins, monophyly, age, patterns of diversification and cladogenesis and their evolutionary pathways and mechanisms from a variety of perspectives, including paleontology, morphology, anatomy, DNA sequence evolution, reproduction and developmental biology. Detailed studies of taxonomic subsets within Neogastropoda are also welcome. The proceedings of this symposium will be published as a supplement to The Nautilus. Contributors are encouraged to contact either of the organizers with a tentative title for their presentation. Oral presentations as well as posters are welcome.
Contact:
Dr. M.G. Harasewych; Dr. Ellen E. Strong, Dept. Invertebrate Zoology, MRC-163, National Museum of Natural History – Smithsonian Institution, P.O.Box 37012, Washington D.C., 20013-7012, USA
