Geobiology: New placozoan habitat discovered

Traces of DNA in the stomachs of predatory snails give a team led by LMU geobiologist Gert Wörheide new insights into the ecology of placozoans.

Due to their diminutive size and inconspicuousness, placozoans are challenging to study in their natural environments. To gain a better insight into the ecology of the animals, the researchers exploited the fact that small shell-less sea slugs from the Rhodopidae family feed on placozoans."We hoped we could find undigested remains of placozoans in the stomach contents of the snails, which we could then perform molecular analyses on," recounts Dr.

Furthermore, the scientists discovered an unexpectedly large genetic diversity. In the stomach contents of just two snails, they found five genetically different lineages, of which three had never been described before. In the view of the researchers, this indicates that the diversity of placozoans is much greater than previously assumed."Our results will have a big impact on our picture of the developmental history of one of the oldest phyla on Earth," says Wörheide.

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