nemertean stylets; arthropod phylogeny

[Ken Kinman]

Dear All,
      The following is not a definitive suggestion of relationship, but just
a sort of "fishing expedition" concerning the possibility of a relationship
which I have not yet had time to really explore in any detail.
      Could the poisonous stylets of nemerteans possibly be homologous with
the poisonous radular teeth of neogastropods?  Are there any similarities
between the poisons employed by these groups?  Could the pilidium larvae of
nemertean worms be a variant of the veliger larvae?  Unlike other "far-out"
ideas I have presented, I do not yet have any definite idea whether this one
has any substance or not.  Just floating a trial balloon on this one to see
if it might fly or not.  It's not a hypothesis I am presently strongly wed
to, but who knows, maybe it will become another oddball idea I will firmly
latch onto.  Time will tell.
            ---- Cheers,
                     Ken Kinman
P.S.  Sometime later this year I will be delving deeply into the
long-standing debate over arthropod phylogeny, which I believe is the last
and most complicated phylogenetic mess I will be tackling.  For those who
think arthropods evolved from annelids, priapulids, onychophorans, or any
other kind of "worms", you are going to be very disappointed.

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