Few studies show how morphological vestigialisation may facilitate functional innovation. Fewer still describe the co-occurrence of the derived and more ancestral structures in the same genetic individual. Here we explore that rare instance in a modular (colonial) marine invertebrate. Using laser scanning confocal microscopy with fluorescent staining and behavioural observations, we describe homologous structures in polymorphic modules (zooids) in the bryozoan Bugula flabellata and document the occurrence of previously unreported retractor and circular muscles in...

The Southern Ocean contains some of the most isolated islands on Earth and fundamental questions remain regarding their colonisation and the connectivity of their coastal biotas. Here we conduct a genetic investigation of the Cellana strigilis (limpet) complex that was originally classified based on morphological characters into six subspecies, five of which are endemic to the New Zealand (NZ) subantarctic and Chatham islands (44° to 52° S). Previous genetic analyses of C. strigilis from six...