ONTOGENIC TRACKS AND EVOLUTIONARY VESTIGES IN MORPHOSPACE

Strombid shells were used to exemplify how to construct ontogenic trac ks and evolutionary vestiges in morphological space (morphospace). Par ameters in a mathematical model of shell form were used to construct m orphospaces. Ontogenic information was mapped into these morphospaces to form 'tracks.' Ontogenic tracks showed that the predominant trend o f morphological evolution of strombid species consisted of an increase of vertical dimensions of whorls (apertures). Integrating information extracted from cladograms with ontogenic tracks in morphospace, 'evol utionary vestiges' were determined and used to infer and reconstruct a ncestral shell forms. (C) 1998 The Linnean Society of London.