New first-authored paper published in BMC Evolutionary Biology! [Link]
In the new paper, we reveal that two neomphaline hydrothermal vent gastropods, Gigantopelta and the ‘scaly-foot’ Chrysomallon, convergently evolved the peculiar adaptation of housing endosymbiotic bacteria in their much enlarged oesophageal gland. We first confirmed the existence of endosymbionts in Gigantopelta using Transmision Electron Microscopy (TEM), and then carried out serial sectioning and 3D reconstruction for a juvenile specimen of Gigantopelta chessoia along with dissections of the adult. These revealed many key anatomical differences with the ‘scaly-foot gastropod’ pointing towards two independent origins of a similar way of life, confirmed by a 5-gene phylogenetic reconstruction clearly showing that the two are not sister within the known members of Peltospiridae. By comparing Gigantopelta and Chrysomallon, we show that metazoans are capable of rapidly and repeatedly evolving equivalent anatomical adaptations and close-knit relationships with chemoautotrophic bacteria, achieving the same end-product through parallel evolutionary trajectories.
The paper is open access and available freely: http://
We also included an interactive 3D anatomical model of Gigantopelta, you only need a PDF reader to play around with it! Have fun! It is available here: https://
Chen C*, Uematsu K, Linse K, Sigwart JS (2017). By more ways than one: Rapid convergence in adaptations to hydrothermal vents shown by 3D anatomical reconstruction of Gigantopelta (Mollusca: Neomphalina). BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17:62. DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-0917-z