Garstang's Auricularia hypothesis suggests that ancestral vertebrates may have evolved from urochordate larvae.
What is Garstang's Auricularia?
The auricularia hypothesis, proposed by Garstang was an attempt to explain how the chordate body plan originated from a deuterostome common ancestor by emphasizing the significance of changes in larval forms. According to the Garstang Hypothesis, development of sexual maturity in a non-metamorphosing lineage of tunicates might provide the immediate proto-chordate ancestors of more typical chordates.
