Abstract
The configurations of spines found on the posterior face of the first basipodal segment of the fourth pair of swimming legs in female calanoids of the family Aetideidae may be interpreted, by implementing Dollo's Law, as structures compensating for the loss of the specialized fifth legs. The same law allows the explanation of the phylogenetic sequence of states observed in this particular character from an evolutionary perspective, namely, by relating the origin of each specific condition found to the (limited) possibilities comprised in the previous configuration. The value of Dollo's Law for either explaining observed character state sequences or, alternatively, for corroborating phylogenetic hypotheses, is discussed.
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