So, the question that we're in the process of asking...
with respect to this group of organisms is did this color pattern of having the tubercles with the orange spots and the chemosensory organs and gills with a very similar color pattern, evolve independently as a result of convergence. So the first thing that we have to do in that process is construct a phylogenetic relationship. The preliminary data that we're producing shows that members of this group that have the tubercles and the spots have a very distinctive characteristic of their reproductive system. All of them have a glandular female duct where there are distinct glands. It's really a unique innovation within this group and all of the ones that have this kind of color pattern have that reproductive characteristic. There are also some other characteristics of the feeding structures and other attributes that aren't as overwhelmingly convincing and unique but all of those characteristics brought together suggest that in fact all of the ones that have this kind of coloration do in fact formulate a monophyltic group.
So therefore, we can piece together a tremendous amount of information about the comparative biology of these organisms once we have a phylogenetic hypothesis. I think this to me is the real power of the modern systematics that we've produced that. You can construct a phylogenetic relationship that is explicitly testable, you can modify that when new data becomes evident, and when you falsify that hypothesis it is far more scientific and is repeatable. By having that road map of the evolutionary history of those organisms, you can map onto it very interesting characteristics about their geography, about their biology, about their adaptive radiation and the kinds of things such as the role of coloration in these organisms and their survival and have a much better understanding of it as a result of the fact that you have a hypothesis of phylogency. I'll end there and be happy to answer any questions you have.
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