Abstract.The karyology and ecology of 76 species ofMonocelididaearc discussed. Species with a basic karyotype are mainly limited to low dynamic subtidal areas: this is considered to be the ancestral habitat of the group. From there, parallel evolution resulted in colonization of more stressed environments. In all lineages, the colonization of new environments is correlated with karyotype rearrangements such as translocations and Robertsonian mechanisms of fusion and fission.
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