Open AccessMuscular anatomy of a whipspider, Phrynus longipes (Pocock) (Arachnida: Amblypygi), and its evolutionary significance
Author(s) -
SHULTZ JEFFREY W.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.1999.tb00608.x
Subject(s) - biology , synapomorphy , anatomy , monophyly , zoology , phylogenetic tree , genetics , clade , gene
Skeletal muscles in the whipspider Phrynus longipes are surveyed and compared with those of other chelicerates to clarify the evolutionary morphology and phylogenetic relationships of the arachnids. Representatives of 115 muscle groups are described and illustrated, and their possible functions are proposed. Principal results of this analysis include new functional models for the operation of the pharyngeal and sternocoxal mechanisms in Amblypygi and a greatly expanded list of apparently unique synapomorphies supporting the monophyly of Pedipalpi (= Amblypygi, Schizomida, Thelyphonida).