The Evolutionary History of Siphonophore Tentilla: Novelties, Convergence, and Integration

Synopsis Siphonophores are free-living predatory colonial hydrozoan cnidarians found in every region of the ocean. Siphonophore tentilla (tentacle side branches) are unique biological structures for prey capture, composed of a complex arrangement of cnidocytes (stinging cells) bearing different types of nematocysts (stinging capsules) and auxiliary structures. Tentilla present an extensive morphological and functional diversity across species. While associations between tentillum form and diet have been reported, the evolutionary history giving rise to this morphological diversity is largely unexplored. Here we examine the evolutionary gains and losses of novel tentillum substructures and nematocyst types on the most recent siphonophore phylogeny. Tentilla have a precisely coordinated high-speed strike mechanism of synchronous unwinding and nematocyst discharge. Here we characterize the kinematic diversity of this prey capture reaction using high-speed video and find relationships with morphological characters. Since tentillum discharge occurs in synchrony across a broad morphological diversity, we evaluate how phenotypic integration is maintaining character correlations across evolutionary time. We found that the tentillum morphospace has low dimensionality, identified instances of heterochrony and morphological convergence, and generated hypotheses on the diets of understudied siphonophore species. Our findings indicate that siphonophore tentilla are phenotypically integrated structures with a complex evolutionary history leading to a phylogenetically-structured diversity of forms that are predictive of kinematic performance and feeding habits.