Evolution and development of the adelphophagic, intracapsular Schmidt's larva of the nemertean Lineus ruber.

The evolution of the intracapsular Schmidt's larva involved the loss of the typical feeding structures of the planktotrophic pilidium and a precocious formation of the imaginal discs, as also observed in other pelagic lecithotrophic forms. However, no special adaptations are observed related to adelphophagy. As in planktotrophic pilidium, the molecular mechanism patterning the juvenile is only active in the imaginal discs and not during the early development of the larva, suggesting two separate molecular programs during nemertean embryogenesis. Our results illuminate the diversification of larval forms in the Pilidiophora and Nemertea, and thus on the developmental mechanisms underlying metazoan larval evolution.