Arthropod phylogeny: onychophoran brain organization suggests an archaic relationship with a chelicerate stem lineage.

ABSTRACT: Neuroanatomical studies have demonstrated that the architecture and organization among neuropils are highly conserved within any order of arthropods. The shapes of nerve cells and their neuropilar arrangements provide robust characters for phylogenetic analyses. Such analyses so far have agreed with molecular phylogenies in demonstrating that entomostracans+malacostracans belong to a clade (Tetraconata) that includes the hexapods. However, relationships among what are considered to be paraphyletic groups or among the stem arthropods have not yet been satisfactorily resolved. The present parsimony analyses of independent neuroarchitectural characters from 27 arthropods and lobopods demonstrate relationships that are congruent with phylogenies derived from molecular studies, except for the s

SUBMITTER: Strausfeld NJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1634797 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature