Abstract below

Institut de Biologie de l’École Normale Supérieure ENS . CNRS UMR8197 . Inserm U1024.

Sea anemones, corals, and jellyfishes : emergence and evolution of shape variety

Throughout their life cycle, sea anemones, corals, jellyfishes (and other “cnidarians”) display a rich variety of shapes as they develop in direct contact with their aquatic environment. Their embryos converge to a spherical shape and then transform into diverse swimming larvae as they elongate along their axis of symmetry. By comparing larval development in different species and using active surface modelling, one can identify biomechanical modules responsible for the evolution of these larval shapes. It suggests how these modules may have laid the foundations for more complex animal forms and constrained the emergence of distinct behaviours.