Museum für Naturkunde, Zentralinstitut der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Systematische Zoologie, Invalidenstr. 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany.
Integr Comp Biol. 2002 Jul;42(3):619-32. doi: 10.1093/icb/42.3.619.
The article summarizes current knowledge mainly about the (functional) morphology and ultrastructure, but also about the biology, development, and evolution of the Kinorhyncha. The Kinorhyncha are microscopic, bilaterally symmetrical, exclusively free-living, benthic, marine animals and ecologically part of the meiofauna. They occur throughout the world from the intertidal to the deep sea, generally in sediments but sometimes associated with plants or other animals. From adult stages 141 species are known, but 38 species have been described from juvenile stages. The trunk is arranged into 11 segments as evidenced by cuticular plates, sensory spots, setae or spines, nervous system, musculature, and subcuticular glands. The ultrastructure of several organ systems and the postembryonic development are known for very few species. Almost no data are available about the embryology and only a single gene has been sequenced for a single species. The phylogenetic relationships within Kinorhyncha are unresolved. Priapulida, Loricifera, and Kinorhyncha are grouped together as Scalidophora, but arguments are found for every possible sistergroup relationship within this taxon. The recently published Ecdysozoa hypothesis suggests a closer relationship of the Scalidophora, Nematoda, Nematomorpha, Tardigrada, Onychophora, and Arthropoda.
本文主要总结了环节动物门的形态学和超微结构的现有知识，还包括生物学、发育和进化。环节动物门是微小的、两侧对称的、完全自由生活的、底栖的、海洋动物，生态上属于小型动物区系。它们分布于世界各地，从潮间带到深海，通常生活在沉积物中，但有时也与植物或其他动物有关。已知有 141 种成虫，但有 38 种是从幼体阶段描述的。体节由表皮板、感觉点、刚毛或刺、神经系统、肌肉和皮下腺排列成 11 节。少数几个物种的几个器官系统的超微结构和胚胎后发育是已知的。几乎没有关于胚胎学的数据，只有一个物种的单个基因被测序。环节动物门内的系统发育关系尚未解决。Priapulida、Loricifera 和 Kinorhyncha 被归为 Scalidophora，但在这个分类单元内，每个可能的姐妹群关系都有争议。最近提出的节肢动物假说表明，Scalidophora、线虫动物门、线虫动物门、缓步动物门、有爪动物门和节肢动物门之间的关系更为密切。
