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Chelicerata split from Mandibulata by the mid-Cambrian, as evidenced by stem-group chelicerates like Habeliida and Mollisonia present by this time. [2] The surviving marine species include the four species of xiphosurans (horseshoe crabs), and possibly the 1,300 species of pycnogonids (sea spiders), if the latter are indeed chelicerates. On the ...
The chelicerae (/ k ə ˈ l ɪ s ər iː /) are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or as a type of pincers.
The name "Mandibulata" refers to the mandibles, a modified pair of limbs used in food processing, the presence of which are characteristic of most members of the group. The mandibulates are divided between the extant groups Myriapoda (millipedes & centipedes, among others) and Pancrustacea (including insects and crustaceans, among others).
Ecdysozoa (/ ˌ ɛ k d ɪ s oʊ ˈ z oʊ ə /) is a group of protostome animals, [8] including Arthropoda (insects, chelicerata (including arachnids), crustaceans, and myriapods), Nematoda, and several smaller phyla.
Paired maxillae cut food and manipulate it during mastication. Maxillae can have hairs and "teeth" along their inner margins. At the outer margin, the galea is a cupped or scoop-like structure, which sits over the outer edge of the labium. They also have palps, which are used to sense the characteristics of potential foods.
However, a 2022 analysis recovered the monophyly of Merostomata, as opposed to a monophyletic Arachnida, with Xiphosura as the only modern representative in a derived position, indicating the convergence of several characteristics that supposedly united the arachnids.
Studies of specimens referred to this genus resolved long-standing contentiousness about the precise phylogenetic position of the Pterygotidae, providing evidence in the form of shared characteristics that Slimonia, not Herefordopterus or Hughmilleria as previously thought, was the closest sister taxon of the group.
However, after the concept of Chelicerata being established in 20th century, sea spiders have long been considered part of the subphylum, alongside euchelicerate taxa such as Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs) and Arachnida (spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, harvestmen and other lesser-known orders). [53]