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Episode 28: From worms to stars
FromPalaeocast
ratings:
Length:
35 minutes
Released:
May 1, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
Echinoderms are characterised by a mineralised skeleton, specialised water vascular system and five-fold symmetry. It is this unusual body plane symmetry that gives the starfish its star-shape. None of these features, however, are possessed by the closest living relatives of echinoderms – the hemichordates. Palaeontology offers a unique perspective into the early evolution of echinoderms, revealing that echinoderm characteristics were acquired in a step-wise fashion from a bilaterally symmetrical ancestor. We speak to Dr Imran Rahman, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Bristol, about the early evolution of echinoderms, from worms to stars.
Released:
May 1, 2014
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Episode 11: Sexual selection in the fossil record: Sexual selection is responsible for much of the astounding diversity in morphology and behaviour that we can see in animals and plants today, but how can we reliably recognise it in the fossil record? by Palaeocast