ABSTRACT
Larvae of the Antarctic brachiopod Liothyrella uva (Broderip, 1833) were cultured from 18 days post-fertilisation to earliest settlement 47 days later. L. uva broods larvae and then releases them over a wide range of developmental stages from early gastrula to larvae competent to settle. Development times from release as early gastrulae to three-lobed larvae were around 33 days and to settlement were approximately 65 days. Developmental stage at release varied greatly within and between females. Development rate and settlement characteristics of larvae were also highly variable. On settlement mantle reversal occurred, and four bundles of mantle setae were present. This was prior to calcification of the shell. In the laboratory more larvae settled on conspecific shell than on rock, tile, glass or plastic. Some larvae took many days to settle, whereas occasionally settlement occurred within minutes of release. In these cases larvae settled mainly around the edges of parental shells. In the field more larvae settled on live conspecifics than dead shells. Most settlement occurred in mid to late summer.
