Arthropod Structure & Development: Jason A. Dunlop, James C. Lamsdell

Arthropod Structure & Development xxx (2016) 1e24
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Arthropod Structure & Development

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Segmentation and tagmosis in Chelicerata

Jason A. Dunlop a, *, James C. Lamsdell b
a
Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstrasse 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany
b
American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology, Central Park West at 79th St, New York, NY 10024, USA
a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Patterns of segmentation and tagmosis are reviewed for Chelicerata. Depending on the outgroup, che-
Received 4 April 2016 licerate origins are either among taxa with an anterior tagma of six somites, or taxa in which the ap-
Accepted 18 May 2016 pendages of somite I became increasingly raptorial. All Chelicerata have appendage I as a chelate or
Available online xxx
clasp-knife chelicera. The basic trend has obviously been to consolidate food-gathering and walking
limbs as a prosoma and respiratory appendages on the opisthosoma. However, the boundary of the
Keywords:
prosoma is debatable in that some taxa have functionally incorporated somite VII and/or its appendages
Arthropoda
into the prosoma. Euchelicerata can be defined on having plate-like opisthosomal appendages, further
Chelicerata
Tagmosis
modified within Arachnida. Total somite counts for Chelicerata range from a maximum of nineteen in
Prosoma groups like Scorpiones and the extinct Eurypterida down to seven in modern Pycnogonida. Mites may
Opisthosoma also show reduced somite counts, but reconstructing segmentation in these animals remains chal-
lenging. Several innovations relating to tagmosis or the appendages borne on particular somites are
summarised here as putative apomorphies of individual higher taxa. We also present our observations
within the concept of pseudotagma, whereby the true tagmata e the prosoma and opisthosoma e can be
defined on a fundamental change in the limb series while pseudotagmata, such as the cephalosoma/
proterosoma, are expressed as divisions in sclerites covering the body without an accompanying change
in the appendages.
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction wider range of feeding ecologies e and the short, raptorial limbs
associated with the first somite are almost invariably used to
Chelicerata are one of the principal divisions of the Arthro- grasp, tear, pierce, or otherwise manipulate food. Compared to
poda. In addition to the largely terrestrial Arachnida, this clade mandibulate arthropods, chelicerates have marshalled far less of
also includes two extant marine groups: Pycnogonida (sea spi- their anterior appendages exclusively for food-gathering and can
ders) and Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs). It also includes the extinct effectively be said to “walk on their heads” (Dieter Waloßek, pers.
marineefreshwater Eurypterida (sea scorpions) and the little- comm. to JAD; see also remarks in Averof (1998)).
known and probably marine Chasmataspidida. Furthermore, Traditionally, textbooks recognised a basic division of the
several Palaeozoic fossils (e.g. Briggs and Collins, 1988; Orr et al., chelicerate body into two functional units. The first six somites,
2000; Chen et al., 2004) have been proposed either as taxa bearing six corresponding pairs of appendages, form a prosoma
belonging to the chelicerate stem-lineage or as early branches which is largely responsible for feeding, locomotion and acquiring
within the chelicerates. Indeed Lamsdell (2013) proposed that sensory information. Sense organs include the eyes, although
some fossils traditionally assigned to horseshoe crabs may in fact these are reduced or lost in some groups, as well as a prepon-
belong to the stem-lineage of other chelicerate clades (see 3.4). derance of cuticular structures such as mechano- or chemore-
Chelicerates can be united by the synapomorphy of the first pair ceptive setae or the slit sense organs of many arachnids. The
of head appendages being modified into chelate or clasp-knife remaining somites e up to thirteen in number e form the opis-
structures usually referred to as the chelicerae or chelifores. thosoma which primarily hosts the digestive and, usually, the
Most chelicerates are predators e although mites express a much respiratory system, the heart (if present), as well as the gonads. In
arachnids and horseshoe crabs the genital opening is invariably on
the underside of the second opisthosomal segment (somite VIII): a
* Corresponding author. useful landmark for assessing segmentation patterns. The opis-
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.A. Dunlop), jlamsdell@amnh. thosoma of horseshoe crabs bears a flap-like genital operculum,
org (J.C. Lamsdell).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2016.05.002
1467-8039/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Dunlop, J.A., Lamsdell, J.C., Segmentation and tagmosis in Chelicerata, Arthropod Structure & Development
(2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2016.05.002
2 J.A. Dunlop, J.C. Lamsdell / Arthropod Structure & Development xxx (2016) 1e24
plus five pairs of gill opercula. The arachnid opisthosoma is largely terminologies. An example here would be the cephalosoma of
devoid of external appendages, although may retain them in a pycnogonids and the proterosoma of certain mites; both of which
highly modified form (Shultz, 1993; Thomas and Telford, 1999; essentially refer to a distinct body region bearing the first four
Damen, et al., 2002; Pechmann and Prpic, 2009; Pechmann pairs of appendages. Mites are a particularly problematic group in
et al., 2010; Farley, 2015). Examples here would include gono- that morphological terms can be taxon-specific, or even differ
pods or papillae flanking the genital opening, ventral sacs in between authors of different nationalities. Throughout we try to
groups like whip spiders, book-lungs and their associated covers, unify the terminology wherever possible, but also to cross-
and the spinnerets of spiders. reference our descriptions to alternative and/or traditional
Pycnogonids deviate from this simple prosoma/opisthosoma names in the literature.
pattern (Winter, 1980; Villpoux and Waloßek, 2003) and do not
really have an opisthosoma equivalent to that of arachnids and 2.2. Segments and somites
horseshoe crabs. Some living genera, such as Decolopoda Eights,
1835 and Dodecolopoda Calman and Gordon, 1933, have one or Of particular relevance to the present review is the need to be
two additional pairs of legs. There are also fossils like Weinbergina clear from the outset about the difference between segments and
opitzi Richter and Richter, 1929 which also appear to have an somites. Here, somites refer to the fundamental metameric units
‘extra’ pair of prosomal legs. This species was originally inter- which make up the arthropod body. They are numbered using
preted as a horseshoe crab, but is now considered to be at a more Roman numerals (Figs. 1e5). We also assume the presence of an
basal grade of organisation (Lamsdell, 2013). In a similar vein we ocular somite (labelled 0). A discussion of its serial homology can be
should note the embryological observations of Scholl (1977) on found in, e.g., Scholtz and Edgecombe (2006: Fig. 3) who referred to
modern horseshoe crabs e confirmed morphologically by Shultz this as the ocular/protocerebral region. Segments refer to the
(2001) e which showed that in this group some opisthosomal external expression of these somites through discrete plates such as
segments are incorporated into the prosomal head shield. We tergites or sternites. Somites often match segments e particularly
should also note several arachnids where the prosoma/opistho- in the arachnid opisthosoma e but mismatches may occur when
soma division is less obvious. Instead we may see division into a adjacent segments fuse. Fusion may affect the whole segment or
gnathosoma/idiosoma (i.e. two somites, plus the rest of the body) only the dorsal or ventral part. For example, many of the extinct
in groups like mesostigmatid mites and in ticks, or a proterosoma/ trigonotarbid arachnids have fused tergites 2 þ 3 into a single,
hysterosoma (four somites, plus the rest of the body) in many larger diplotergite.
acariform mites. Lamsdell (2013) elaborated the concept of A detailed account of the developmental genetics underlying
functional pseudotagmata to accommodate such patterns, and somite/segment formation in chelicerates is beyond the scope of
these divergent body plans and the notion of pseudotagmata are this review, but Damen, (2010) provided a valuable overview.
reviewed in the present study. Damen et al. (2005, and references therein) documented several
Our aim in the first instance is to document segmentation pat- genes which operate according to a so-called pair rule to create
terns in all major lineages (orders) of Chelicerata, homologising repetitive, metameric stripes and thus contribute towards somite
segments as far as possible and exploring the data to try to formation in the wandering spider Cupiennius salei (Keyserling,
recognise key innovations in chelicerate evolution relating to seg- 1877). In brief, these authors recognised three distinct gene groups.
mentation or the appendages they bear (Table 1). A segment-by- The genes even-skipped and runt-1 are associated with the posterior
segment comparison of horseshoe crabs and scorpions was end of the growth zone, but do not reach the anterior end. hairy and
fundamental to Lankester's (1881) classic demonstration that pairberry-3 also begin in the posterior zone, but continue into the
Xiphosura are closer to Arachnida than to Crustacea. We also draw anterior zone. Finally odd-paired, odd-skipped-related-1 and sloppy
on historical (Pocock, 1893; Bo €rner, 1904; Petrunkevitch, 1922; paired are restricted to the anterior growth zone. Damen et al.
Millot, 1949; Zachvatkin 1952) and contemporary (van der (2005) further noted that, in contrast to mandibulate arthropods,
Hammen, 1989; Kraus, 1998; Villpoux and Waloßek, 2003; the gene fushi tarazu appears not to be involved in somite formation
Lamsdell, 2013; Lamsdell et al., 2015a) accounts of segmentation in chelicerates. This is consistent with the hypothesis that cheli-
patterns across groups, and expand these here to include data from cerates are sister group to mandibulate arthropods and that somite
several recently described fossil taxa which appear to reveal key formation in mandibulates involves some derived gene mecha-
stages in the early evolution of the chelicerate body plan and limb nisms as compared to chelicerates. Note that Telford (2000) cloned
arrangement. fushi tarazu in mites and argued that its ancestral function was
patterning the anterioreposterior axis. Only later did it shift to
2. Materials and methods being a segmentation gene, presumably the derived character state,
in insects like Drosophila.
Data were largely drawn from the primary literature, including Studies of gene distribution in other chelicerates include the
the authors' own studies, and citations to relevant papers for in- sea spiders Endeis spinosa (Montagu, 1808) and Nymphon gracile
dividual taxa are provided in the Results section below. Leach, 1814 (Manuel et al., 2006) as well as the spider Tegenaria
Extinct taxa are indicated by a y. saeva [now Eratigena atrica (C. L. Koch, 1843)]. Among scorpions
Euscorpius flavicaudus (DeGeer, 1778) was studied by Simonet
2.1. Terminology et al. (2006), Mesobuthus martensi (Karsch, 1879) by Cao et al.
(2013) and Di et al. (2015), and Centruroides sculpturatus (Wood,
Comparative studies of arthropods can suffer from in- 1863) by Sharma et al. (2014a); see also Sharma et al. (2015) for an
consistencies in terminology. In the worst-case scenario these overview and expansion to a wider range of scorpion taxa. There
translate into erroneous character scores for phylogenetic ana- has been work on the harvestman Phalangium opilio Linnaeus,
lyses. Occasionally the same term has been used for what are 1761 (Sharma et al., 2012a, b), the oribatid mite Archegozetes
evidently non-homologous structures. A case in point would be longisetosus Aoki, 1965 (e.g. Barnett and Thomas, 2012, 2013a, b)
the carapace (¼ prosomal dorsal shield) of arachnids and the and the spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836 (reviewed by
carapace of crustaceans. Alternatively, potentially homologous el- Grbic et al., 2007). Results from these papers are noted below for
ements can be masked by the use of long-standing, group-specific the relevant taxa, but for the horseshoe crabs and the remaining
J.A. Dunlop, J.C. Lamsdell / Arthropod Structure & Development xxx (2016) 1e24 3
Table 1
Key morphological innovations in the evolution of Chelicerata, with special emphasis on segmentation, limb morphology and
tagmosis. Traditional orders in bold. See text for details.
Chelicerata Appendages of somite I become chelate

Pycnogonida Groundplan of eleven somites or less
Pantopoda Somites beyond VIII reduced to a stub
Euchelicerata Appendages of somite VIIIeXIII plate-like
Prosomapoda Appendages of somites IIeV lose their exopods
Xiphosura Appendage VII reduced to chilaria
Xiphosurida Opisthosomal tergites fuse to form a thoracetron
Planaterga Opisthosomal tergites lose their axial nodes
Dekatritia Groundplan of 13 opisthosomal somites
y
Chasmataspidida 4 þ 9 tagmosis of the opisthosoma
Sclerophorata Spermatophores; loss of exopod on appendage VI?
y
Eurypterida Appendages VIII þ IX fuse into genital operculum
Arachnida Unpaired gonopore on somite VIII
Scorpiones Telson modified into a sting
Opiliones Body reduced to 15 somites?
y
Phalangiotarbida Tergites VIIeXII abbreviated; dorsal anal operculum
Palpigradi Somites IX, X and XII bear ventral sacs
Pseudoscorpiones Retractable anal cone (somite XVIII)
Solifugae Malleoli acquired at base of appendage VI
Acariformes Genital acertabula (absent in some groups)
Parasitiformes [no obvious autapomorphy relating to segmentation]
Ricinulei Cucullus; appendage IV used for sperm transfer
Pantetrapulmonata Appendage I a clasp-knife chelicera
y
Trigonotarbida Somites VIII and IX with a diplotergite?
y
Uraraenida Somites XI and X with silk glands?
Araneae Somites XI and X acquire spinnerets; appendage II used for sperm transfer
y
Haptopoda Appendage III elongate and probably tactile
Pedipalpi Appendage II semi-raptorial, appendage III antenniform
Amblypygi Appendage II (pedipalp) with cleaning brush
Thelyphonida [no obvious autapomorphy relating to segmentation]
Schizomida Male telson modified into a club-like structure
arachnid orders comparative gene data on segmentation are 3. Results

currently lacking.
3.1. Putative stem-taxa
The origins of Chelicerata remain uncertain. Older schemes

2.3. Tagmata and pseudotagmata
deriving them from within Trilobita (e.g. Lauterbach, 1983) have
largely been abandoned, and seem to rely on superficial similarities
In most arthropods somites are organised into clear functional
between trilobites and horseshoe crabs (critiqued by Scholtz and
units, traditionally referred to as tagmata. However, there has been
Edgecombe, 2006). Instead, two alternative hypotheses have
some debate (reviewed by Lamsdell, 2013) as to what precisely
emerged in recent years which recognise either the Cambrian fossil
constitutes a tagma, and whether tagmata should be defined by
Sanctacaris uncata Briggs and Collins, 1988 as a bonafide member of
visible demarcations along the trunk or by functional divisions
Chelicerata, or several Cambrian fossils assigned to a (para-
relating to the limb series. Drawing on an older concept developed
phyletic?) Megacheira group as potential stem-group chelicerates.
by van der Hammen (1963) for mites, Lamsdell (2013, p. 4) pro-
Since this issue remains unresolved, representatives of both models
posed adopting the term ‘pseudotagmata’ for units defined by
are included here as comparative illustrations.
differentiation of the tergites or sternites without an associated
change in form or function of the appendages. By contrast true
tagmata would be defined as regions of functional specialization, 3.1.1. Sanctacarisy
which in arthropods is predominantly mediated through modifi- Sanctacaris uncata (Fig. 1) from the Burgess Shale of Canada has
cation or suppression of the appendages. Applying this concept to been interpreted as a basal chelicerate on the grounds that it ex-
Chelicerata we can argue that the prosoma and opisthosoma presses a head shield (probably) associated with six pairs of bira-
represent true tagmata because there is a fundamental split mous appendages, potentially positionally homologous with those
(Figs. 2e5) between the feeding and locomotory limbs of the of the chelicerate prosoma (somites IeVI). A pair of stalked lateral
prosoma and the flattened genital/gill opercula of the opisthosoma eyes are also present. The trunk (or opisthosoma) in S. uncata is
in horseshoe crabs or the largely suppressed or highly-modified composed of eleven somites (VIIeXVIII), the first ten of which bear
appendages of the opisthosoma in arachnids. Structures such as biramous limbs composed of a short, segmented inner ramus and a
the proterosoma, encompassing the first four somites of certain broad, lamellate outer ramus fringed with setae. The telson is wide
mites, would be pseudotagmata in this scheme because there is no and spatulate. However, there are inconsistencies in the literature
associated change in the limb series, which continues with two with regards to the interpretation of the limb series. In Briggs and
further leg pairs on the next two somites (Fig. 4). As noted by Collins' (1988) original description the prosoma bore six pairs of
Lamsdell (2013), there can, however, be notable modification of the limbs, but first of these belonging to somite I was described as non-
limbs close to tagmata boundaries. An example would be the small, chelate. For this reason there was a reluctance to formally include
limb-like chilaria at the front of the opisthosoma in modern S. uncata within Chelicerata. This is reflected in several cladistic
horseshoe crabs (Fig. 2). Thus one of the main aims of the present analyses (summarised by Legg, 2014: Fig. 1) in which S. uncata did
paper is to highlight and document these sometimes significant not resolve especially close to the chelicerates. Authors such as
zones of transition. Budd (2002) interpreted the entire anterior limb assemblage as an
Fig. 1. Schematic model of segmentation in selected putative stem-group Chelicerata and in stem- and crown-group Pycnogonida. Somites numbered with Roman numerals. Extinct
taxa indicated by a y. Blue indicates the putative prosomal region, yellow the putative opisthosoma, green the cephalon, orange trunk segments bearing appendages, red ring-like
trunk segments without appendages, brown the telson. Not to scale. See text for details.
Fig. 2. Schematic model of segmentation in Euchelicerata (excluding Arachnida). Extinct taxa indicated by a y. Blue indicates the prosoma, yellow the opisthosoma, orange ring-like
postabdominal segments, brown the telson; equivocal or hypothesised elements greyed out. Black circle indicates the position of the gonopore (where known). Not to scale. See text
for details.
Fig. 3. Schematic model of segmentation in Arachnida: part 1. Extinct taxa indicated by a y. Colour coding as in Fig. 2, with successively darker blues where prosomal somites are
associated with a separate meso- and metapeltidium. A narrow somite VII indicates a constriction between the prosoma and opisthosoma. Black circle indicates the position of the
gonopore (where known). Not to scale. See text for details.
Fig. 4. Schematic model of segmentation in Arachnida: part 2. The mite clades Acariformes and Parasitiformes. Given the divergent opinions in the literature about segmentation in
both clades, several alternative models are offered here for comparison. Colour coding as in Fig. 2 with light blue indicating the gnathosoma. A constriction between somites IV and
V in acariform mites indicates the dorsal disjugal and ventral sejugal furrows respectively. Not to scale. See text for details.
Fig. 5. Schematic model of segmentation in Arachnida: part 3. The Pantetrapulmonata, encompassing spiders and their relatives. Extinct taxa indicated by a y. Colour coding as in
Figs. 2e3. Not to scale. See text for details.
expression of a single, multi-branched appendage or limb-basket. model e the condition of the first head appendage is unknown and
More recently, Legg (2014) rejected the limb-basket interpreta- the first visible appendage was thus interpreted as limb II. Prosomal
tion and restated the case for treating S. uncata as a chelicerate. limbs IIeVI of S. uncata were interpreted as biramous, with a more
Note that in Legg's revised scheme e which forms the basis for our pediform endopod and a more filiform exopod. The endopod of
limb II was described as having five articles; those of limbs IIIeVI cheliceral articles e termed the coxa, deutomerite and apotele by,
seven. The tips of the exopods bear clusters of setae. The opistho- e.g., Shultz (2000) e is widely accepted as the plesiomorphic
somal appendages are also biramous, with a short, more or less leg- character state for chelicerates. Sharma et al. (2012b) demonstrated
like endopod of uncertain article number and a flap-like exopod that in harvestmen the most proximal article (the coxa) is associ-
fringed with setae. ated with expression of the dachshund gene. Barnett and Thomas
(2013a) provided evidence that acariform mites also retain three
3.1.2. Megacheiray cheliceral articles, although only two are clearly visible externally,
Several Cambrian fossils have been referred to as short great- again with dachshund expression in the most proximal article. At
appendage arthropods, or Megacheira. Some authors interpreted least in spiders, dachshund suppression correlates with the reduc-
them as putative members of the chelicerate stem-lineage. Exam- tion to only two articles: in this scenario the deutomerite/pautron
ples figured here (Fig. 1) are Leanchoilia superlata Walcott, 1912 and and the apotele. Further comparative data are needed to test
Yohoia tenuis Walcott, 1912 from the Burgess Shale, plus Haikoucaris whether all arachnids with only two cheliceral articles utilise the
ercaiensis Chen et al., 2004 from the Maotianshan Shale of China. In same developmental mechanism.
all these animals a short head shield covers somites IeIV and is In the original concept Chelicerata did not include Pycnogonida.
associated with four pairs of limbs and stalked lateral eyes. Key to The position of the sea spiders has long proved controversial: as
the Megacheira/Chelicerata hypothesis is the fact that the first head either basal chelicerates or basal arthopods (reviewed by Dunlop
limb (from somite I) is enlarged and either bears long filaments and and Arango, 2005). Most authors now treat sea spiders as cheli-
terminates in a distal tiny claw (L. superlata, redescribed by Haug cerates based partly on the presumed homology between the
et al., 2012a) or is to a greater or lesser extent raptorial (Y. tenuis, chelifores of Pycnogonida and the chelicerae of Euchelicerata. Both
H. ercaiensis). This enlarged, uniramous first head limb has been appear to be uniramous, chelate appendages associated with the
homologised with the chelicera/chelifore of the Chelicerata and deuterocerebrum; a result supported by gene distribution (Manuel
interpreted as its immediate precursor. A possible scenario is that et al., 2006) and neuroanatomy (Brenneis et al., 2008). Molecular
the ‘great appendage’ became shorter, compacter and more data have also supported chelicerate affinities for sea spiders (e.g.
explicitly chelate (e.g. Størmer, 1944: Fig. 24; Chen et al., 2004: Regier et al., 2010; Campbell et al., 2011).
Fig. 5; Haug et al., 2012b: Fig. 11). This hypothesis is also supported
by the presence of median eyes in megacheirans which have been 3.3. Pycnogonida
shown to be homologous to the median ocelli of chelicerates
(Tanaka et al., 2013); structures that appear to be absent in Sanc- Comparisons between Pycnogonida and the remaining Euche-
tacaris uncata. licerata are hampered by the unusual morphology of the sea spi-
The next three head appendages in megacheirans are all bira- ders. It is important to recognise from the outset that the four
mous. Note that in L. superlata limb II is especially small and that Liu walking legs in sea spiders (on somites IVeVII) do not belong to the
et al. (2016: Fig. S4) recently suggested that, at least in this species, same somites (IIIeVI) as the four walking legs of arachnids (Figs. 1,
there were four pairs of biramous head appendages behind the 3e5). Pycnogonids have undergone several reductive trends, such
great appendage. Further investigations into this (and other) that the trunk behind the legs in modern taxa is reduced to a
megacheirans could thus modify the patterns presented in Fig. 1 to vestigial posterior element while the gut and reproductive organs
include an extra head limb. Similar to Sanctacaris uncata, the have become partially displaced into the legs. Extinct taxa offer a
biramous limbs in megacheirans comprise a pediform endopod. In better guide to the pycnogonid groundplan, expressing a longer
most taxa the number of articles in the endopod in uncertain but trunk behind the last pair of walking legs and retaining the telson.
seven (plus the basipod) have been described from L. superlata. For this reason we figure the body plans of two Devonian fossils, as
Again the exopod is flap-like and fringed with setae. The same well as a living representative belonging to the crown-group which
biramous limb morphology continues along the trunk, which in the is often referred to in the literature as Pantopoda (Fig. 1). It is also
examples figured here varies in length from 11 to 13 segments. In important to stress that some extant (and fossil) taxa have further
L. superlata and H. ercaiensis all the trunk segments bear tergo- lost the chelicerae, pedipalps and/or ovigers. Furthermore, as noted
pleurae; essentially tergites plus their lateral extensions. In Y. tenuis above a handful of recent genera have either ten or twelve legs
there are only 10 tergopleurae and the last three trunk segments rather than the usual eight. Why they have these extra limbs and
are more ring-like and lack appendages. The body of all three how this relates to the basic segmentation and groundplan of the
figured examples here ends in a telson which can be either styli- sea spiders remains uncertain.
form (L. superlata and H. ercaiensis) or spatulate (Y. tenuis).
3.3.1. Palaeoisopusy
3.2. Chelicerata The remarkable Hünsruck Slate fossil Palaeoisopus problematicus
Broili, 1928 is clearly a pycnogonid, but differs significantly from
The name Chelicerata, or “claw-bearer”, was introduced by living species. The schematic model presented here (Fig. 1) is based
Heymons (1901) and can be defined as arthropods with raptorial on the redescription of Bergstro€m et al. (1980) and the comparative
appendages on somite I. Traditionally the chelicerae were assumed figure of Villpoux and Waloßzek (2003). Anteriorly Palaeoisopus,
to belong to somite II and in this scenario Chelicerata originally had, like all other sea spiders, has a cephalosoma. This tube-like body
but subsequently lost, antennae on somite I. The important studies tagma bears the proboscis and the eye tubercle with four eyes. This
of Damen et al. (1998) and Telford and Thomas (1998), summarized proboscis appears to be a unique apomorphy of the sea spiders and
by Averof (1998), revealed that the chelicerae in fact belong to the cannot be easily matched to any particular anterior somite. It is
first somite and are homologous with the (first) antennae of constructed from three antimeres (e.g. Winter, 1980), but attempts
mandibulate arthropods. Chelicerae can be fully chelate structures, to homologise all or part of the proboscis anatomy with the labrum
as in scorpions or harvestmen, or else they resemble a clasp-knife of other arthropods and/or elements of the anterior limbs have
in groups like spiders in which a moveable fang articulates been rejected on embryological grounds (Brenneis et al., 2011).
against a basal element, sometimes called the pautron. Some mites The cephalosoma represents the first four somites and is asso-
show further specialisation of the mouthparts into stylet-like ciated with the chelicerae (limb I), palps (limb II), egg-carrying
structures depending on their feeding ecology. Retention of three ovigers (limb III) and the first pair of walking legs (limb IV). This
is followed by three trunk segments (somites VeVII) each associ- detailed three-dimensional morphology was reconstructed by
ated with further pairs of legs. Beyond this, there are four additional Sutton et al. (2002) by grinding away the matrix and imaging the
ring-like trunk segments (somites VIIIeXI) without appendages. fossil along successive slice planes. O. kingi has a prosomal dorsal
The body terminates in a styliform telson; whereby it is interesting shield, albeit associated with somites IeVII (i.e. one more than in
to note that in Palaeoisopus the anus opens midway along the telson arachnids). Sutton et al. thus reported seven pairs of prosomal
(Fig. 1), and not at the base of the telson as in euchelicerates. The appendages. The appendages of somite I are a uniramous pair of
chelicerae in Palaeoisopus have been interpreted as having had five chelicera. Significantly, the appendages of somites IIeV are
€ m et al., 1980) and thus to some extent bridge the
articles (Bergstro biramous. The endopod is pediform and ends in a terminal claw;
gap between the megacheiran condition (3.1.2) and the three the exopod is also essentially pediform, but terminates in a brush
cheliceral articles of euchelicerates (3.4). of setae. The appendage of somite VI has a similar endopod, but
here the exopod is tendril-shaped. The appendages of somite VII
3.3.2. Flagellopantopusy are uniramous and form a pair of flap-like structures bearing
In the contemporary Hunsrück sea spider Flagellopantopus several marginal setae. Sutton et al. tentatively homologised the
blocki Poschmann and Dunlop, 2006 there is an obvious trend for tendril on somite VI with the flabellum of modern horseshoe
the trunk behind the last pair of legs to become shorter and more crabs and the flap-like appendages on somite VII with the chi-
compact (Poschmann and Dunlop, 2006). Chelicerae in F. blocki are laria (see below). The opisthosoma of O. kingi is divided into a
either not preserved or are genuinely absent (Fig. 1). As in mesosoma of three somites (VIIIeX) and a metasoma of five
P. problematicus the cephalon of F. blocki bears the palps (limb II), somites (XIeXV). All three mesosomal somites and the first three
ovigers (limb III) and first pair of legs (limb IV). The first three trunk metasomal somites bear flap-like opercula: the euchelicerate
segments (somites VeVII) bear the remaining three pairs of legs. synapomorphy. Sutton et al. homologised these six opercula in
These are followed by two or three short, limbless ring-like seg- O. kingi with the genital operculum plus five gill opercula of
ments (somites VIIIe?X). The terminal telson is not styliform. living horseshoe crabs; although actual gills could not be un-
Instead it is elongate and flagelliform, and hints at a high diversity equivocally resolved in the fossil. The opisthosoma of O. kingi
of body plans among the Devonian sea spiders compared to living terminates in a styliform telson potentially with a distal
species; none of which retain a telson. bifurcation.
3.3.3. Pantopoda 3.4.2. Dibasteriumy

The crown-group Pantopoda are similar to the two previous The Herefordshire Lagerst€ atte has also yielded Dibasterium
fossil examples in possessing a cephalosoma (somites IeIV) bearing durgae Briggs et al., 2012 which was reconstructed from serial
the chelicerae, pedipalps, ovigers and first pair of walking legs; slices using the same methodology as above. Again this ca. 23 mm
followed by three more leg-bearing trunk somites (VeVII). As noted long fossil looks like a small horseshoe crab and was formally
above, Pantopoda show the most extreme reduction of the trunk to described within Xiphosura. According to Briggs et al. (2012) the
a small, vestigial element behind the last pair of walking legs. None prosomal dorsal shield of D. durgae lacks any evidence for eyes
of the extant species retain a telson. The chelicerae are usually and appears to be associated with somites IeVI. The appendages
reduced to three articles, but four have been recorded in the liter- of somite I are a uniramous pair of chelicerae. They are unusually
ature (Helfer and Schlottke, 1935: Fig. 22) and, as noted above, in long in this fossil and curve back under much of the prosoma. As
several living genera the chelicerae have become further reduced or in O. kingi, the appendages of somites IIeV are biramous. Both the
lost completely. endo- and exopod are largely pediform; the endopods terminat-
ing in a claw and the exopods in three spines. Note that Briggs
3.4. Euchelicerata et al. argued that the endo- and exopod in both D. durgae and
O. kingi were separated at the base, and speculated that this po-
The name Euchelicerata was introduced by Weygoldt and Paulus sitional separation of the limb bases represented a stage towards
(1979) and defined as chelicerates possessing plate-like opistho- the loss of the biramous limb. The appendages of somite VI are
somal appendages. These are clearly seen in, for example, the apparently uniramous e which is in contrast to the presence of a
genital and gill opercula of horseshoe crabs and eurypterids. They flabellum in modern horseshoe crabs e and non-chelate. The
are also seen, albeit in a modified form, in the sclerites covering the opisthosoma consists of eleven somites (VIIeXVII). The first
book-lungs of arachnids. In an important study of skeleto-muscular tergite of somite VII is narrow and partly concealed under the
anatomy, Shultz (1993) demonstrated that what were traditionally prosomal dorsal shield. The appendages of somite VII are rela-
called opisthosomal sternites 2 and 3 in whip scorpions (Thely- tively small and flap like; somewhat similar to the chilaria of
phonida) are actually the modified appendages (or opercula) horseshoe crabs. Opisthosomal somites VIIeXIV constitute a
bearing the lungs. These opercula cover the highly reduced true preabdomen, and the tergites of XIIIeXIV have marginal spines or
sternites of somites VIII and IX respectively, which can still be pleurae. Somites VIIIeXIII bear gill opercula, whereby in D. durgae
identified based on the attachment sites of dorsoeventral muscles. the lamellate nature of the book gills can be resolved. Interest-
In its traditional sense, Euchelicerata encompassed the horse- ingly, the operculum of somite VIII apparently retains a gill. In
shoe crabs, eurypterids and arachnids. Recently, several fossil taxa modern horseshoe crabs this is the genital operculum and the
have been resolved towards the base of this clade, thereby resolving associated respiratory organs have been lost. The last pre-
as part of the euchelicerate stem lineage. These include two Silurian abdominal somite (XVII) lacks appendages. Somites XVeXVII are
examples which still retained biramous limbs on the postcheliceral more ring-like, lack plurae and form a small postabdomen. The
prosomal appendages. opisthosoma terminates in a styliform telson with a possible
distal bifurcation.
3.4.1. Offacolusy
Offacolus kingi Orr et al., 2000 is an interesting fossil from the 3.5. Prosomapoda
Silurian Herefordshire Lagersta €tte of England (Fig. 2). In overall
appearance it resembles a small e less than 5 mm long e eyeless The name Prosomapoda was introduced by Lamsdell (2013) and
horseshoe crab with a somewhat truncated opisthosoma. Its defined as Euchelicerata in which prosomal appendages IIeV lack
exopods in the adult instar. Thus by this grade of organisation the 3.5.2. Venustulusy
fully-developed prosomal exopods seen in fossils such as O. kingi A similar synziphosurine fossil preserving appendages, albeit
and D. durgae have been lost. Exopods are retained as the flabellum perhaps expressing a more derived grade of organisation, is
on limb VI of modern horseshoe crabs (see also 3.6.1). The basal Venustulus waukeshaensis Moore et al., 2005 from the Silurian
part of the Prosomapoda clade encompasses several taxa tradi- Waukesha Lagersta €tte of the USA. Described in detail by Moore
tionally referred to as synziphosurines. These animals were treated et al. (2005b) the body may have 17 somites, dorsally with a clear
by, e.g., Anderson and Selden (1997) as a stem-lineage towards the 6 þ 11? division into a prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites IeVI are
modern horseshoe crabs. Lamsdell (2013) proposed that synzi- covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace). There is
phosurines in fact comprise a paraphyletic assemblage of early no evidence for any eyes. Limb I appears to be the chelicera and is
euchelicerates; some closer to horseshoe crabs and others to the followed by limbs IIeVI. Thus in contrast to the condition in
lineage leading towards eurypterids and arachnids. As noted by Weinbergina opitzi there is no walking leg on somite VII, although
Briggs et al. (2012) most synziphosurines are only known from neither is there any obvious evidence for the transformation of
their dorsal anatomy, which can make placing them correctly these limbs into chilara as in modern horseshoe crabs. The opis-
difficult. Two fossils in which appendages are known are included thosoma expresses 10 segments, but again it is not clear if there was
here as comparative examples. originally a microtergite and/or if this has already been incorpo-
rated into the prosomal dorsal shield (see 3.6.1). As with W. opitzi,
assuming a suppressed somite VII brings the body plan into line
3.5.1. Weinberginay with several other taxa and has been tentatively assumed in Fig. 2
Weinbergina opitzi (Fig. 2) from the Devonian Hunsrück Slate of here. The nature of any opisthosomal opercula is equivocal. The last
Germany is an important species, fossils of which reveal the un- three segments are ring-like, forming a postabdomen. The opis-
derside of the body and its appendages. Detailed redescriptions thosoma ends in a short, styliform telson.
were offered by Stürmer and Bergstro € m (1981) and Moore et al.
(2005a). W. opitzi may have 17 somites, dorsally with a clear 3.6. Xiphosura
6 þ 11? division into a putative prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites
IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace). In Lamsdell's (2013) scheme the true horseshoe crabs (as
There is no evidence for any eyes. Limb I is small and has been Xiphosura) are more restricted in scope and were redefined as
interpreted as the chelicera, but details are lacking. Significantly, euchelicerates with a partially reduced tergite of somite VII
W. opitzi has six additional pairs of legs corresponding to somites (sometimes called the microtergite), appendages of somite VII
IIeVII. In other words, the limb belonging to somite VII is a fully reduced to chilaria, an opisthosoma broadest anteriorly, a cardiac
developed leg, similar to the condition in sea spiders (see 3.3.), and lobe extending onto the anterior half of the prosomal dorsal shield
is not a reduced element like the chilaria on this somite in modern and ophthalmic ridges which merge anteriorly with median ridge
horseshoe crabs (see 3.6.1). None of these legs were demonstrably to form double arch. Note, however, the debates above about
biramous in the available descriptions, and Moore et al. (2005a) whether some basal euchelicerates also had a short tergite VII or
also commented on the fact that the podomere count of the legs microtergite.
was more like the eurypterid/arachnid condition than the legs of
modern horseshoe crabs. It should, however, be noted that Selden 3.6.1. Xiphosurida
et al. (2015) suggested that the limbs of Weinbergina may in fact be Within this wider Xiphosura clade the derived horseshoe crabs
biramous; referring to several published figures in support of this (Xiphosurida), which includes the four living species, are further
interpretation. Further study of the available specimens of Wein- defined by the fusion of the dorsal tergites into a single, rigid plate.
bergina is needed to ascertain the veracity of these suggestions, Its evolution, and criteria for recognising it in fossils, was discussed
however if they are accurate this would suggest that Weinbergina in detail by Anderson and Selden (1997). Classic accounts of mod-
has a closer relationship to Offacolus and Dibasterium than to Pro- ern horseshoe crab morphology include Lankester (1881), as well as
somapoda, and would be considered a derivative of the eucheli- more recent studies such as Shultz (2001) and Mittmann and
cerate stem lineage. This scheme may also result in the apparent Scholtz (2003). The latter authors confirmed, morphologically, the
limb of somite VII instead being the uniramous limb of somite VI. hypothesis that the chelicerae belong to the first somite, not the
The opisthosoma of W. opitzi reveals 10 segments, but there is second as had been traditionally assumed (see 3.2). An important
debate in the literature about whether an additional microtergite e contribution towards understanding horseshoe crab segmentation
corresponding to somite VII e was present. Moore et al. (2005a) was the embryological study of Scholl (1977), who showed that in
found no evidence for a microtergite but conceded that somite modern horseshoe crabs the first opisthosomal tergite (somite VII)
VII is either not expressed dorsally or corresponds to the (large) first and the medial tergal elements of the second segment (somite VIII)
tergite. We have assumed here that there was an element in front of are integrated into the dorsal shield; see also Shultz (2001). Again,
the first visible opisthosomal tergite which is not clearly expressed, to what extent this applies to fossil horseshoe crabs is difficult to
as this brings the distribution of the ventral opercula in line with test empirically, but the possibility of a similar fusion should be
both modern horseshoe crabs and with other basal euchelicerates borne in mind when interpreting segmentation in extinct taxa.
(Fig. 2). Ventrally, in W. opitzi at least three pairs of opercula can be Xiphosurids thus have at least 15 somites (Fig. 2), the anterior
recognised (Moore et al., 2005a) and while some striations are ones belonging to what Shultz (2001) termed a cephalothorax. This
implicit of the lamellae of book gills it is difficult to match operculae consists of the prosomal dorsal shield covering somites IeVI, plus
unequivocally to somites. For this reason we cannot say, for the additional dorsal elements from somites VII and (in part) so-
example, whether the opercula revealed evidence of biramy, or if mite VIII. The cephalothorax bears median ocelli and compound
gills were present on somite VIII given that they are lost here in lateral eyes, including also several vestigial eyes detailed by Batelle
modern horseshoe crabs. Stürmer and Bergstro € m's (1981: Fig. 3) (2006). Limb I is a chelate chelicera with three articles; limbs IIeVI
reconstruction included a total of six pairs of opercula; an inter- act as legs. In mature males of Limulus limb II is modified into a
pretation we follow here. They further interpreted the last three clasper which is used to hold onto the female during mating; in
segments as ring-like forming a weakly off-set postabdomen. The Tachypleus and Carcinoscorpius limb III is a clasper too. Limbs IIeV
opisthosoma ends in a short, styliform telson. are subchelate or chelate at the tip: the exact pattern depends on
the genus. Limb VI is modified into a pusher which can splay out at appearance, in some cases with a genital appendage and meta-
the tip and provides greater purchase on the substrate. Limb VI is stoma plate covering the coxal region (Dunlop, 2002; Tetlie and
also biramous, with a small projection from the coxa (an exopod) Braddy, 2004). This divergent morphology led some authors to
usually referred to as the flabellum or epipodite. Between the coxae question the group's monophyly (Tetlie and Braddy, 2004; Shultz,
there is a small postoral sclerotized element, the endostoma 2007a). Despite this, Chasmataspidida can potentially be defined
(Shultz, 2001: Fig. 2), which could be homologous to the arachnid on an obvious tagmosis apomorphy (Marshall et al., 2014),
labium and/or sternum. The ventral appendages of somite VII are namely somite VII retained as a dorsally visible microtergite;
present as a small pair of limb-like projections called chilaria. Like tergites of somites VIIeX forming a preabdomen and somites
the dorsal expression of this somite, these ventral elements are XIeXIX forming a long postabdomen. This 4 þ 9 tagmosis of the
functionally part of the cephalothorax and create a water current opisthosoma is unique among chelicerates. Note that none of the
for moving food along the adjacent gnathobases of the leg coxae. species described to date have a complete limb series, thus the
Dorsally the opisthosoma presents a solid plate, which is usually description below is something of a composite from the better-
called the thoracetron or tergum (Shultz, 2001). Patterns of muscle known taxa.
apophyses indicate that the thoracetron includes seven somites Chasmataspidids have 19 somites (Fig. 2) with a clear 6 þ 13
(VIIIeXIV), with internal evidence in terms of a further muscle division into a prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites IeVI are covered
attachment site for at least somite XV too. Whether somites beyond by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace). This bears both
XV are part of the thoracetron too is difficult to assess from the median ocelli and (probably compound) lateral eyes. Limb I is
available morphology (see also Shultz, 2001: Fig. 3B). Ventrally, equivocal but presumed to have been a chelate chelicera. Limbs
somites VIIIeXIII all bear opercula. That of somite VIII is the genital IIeVI form the legs, whereby limb VI of most diploaspidid genera is
operculum. It bears paired gonopores, but lacks respiratory organs. modified into a swimming paddle. A disarticulated limb of Chas-
The next five (somites IXeXIII) are gill opercula bearing lamellate mataspis laurencii appears to be biramous (Dunlop et al., 2004:
book gills. The opercula are all effectively biramous (see e.g. Legg, Figs. 5e6) with a projection similar to the flabellum on limb VI of
2014: Fig. 4). The putative endopod is a small finger-like projec- horseshoe crabs (see 3.6.1), but it is unclear whether this is typical
tion on the median side, albeit absent on the genital opercula of the of all taxa and/or all appendages in the limb series. The chasma-
subfamily Tachypleinae. The exopod bears the gills on the relevant taspidid opisthosoma has 13 somites. Tergite 1 (somite VII) is short
somites. The opisthosoma terminates in a long styliform telson, and ventrally there is a plate-like metastoma presumed to be the
often referred to as the tail spine. modified appendages of this same somite. The tergites of somites
VIIIeX are fused into a buckler in C. laurencii, but seem to be
3.7. Planaterga separate from one another in younger fossils. Ventrally there are
three opercula corresponding to somites VIIIeX; VIII bears the
The name Planaterga was introduced by Lamsdell (2013) and genital appendage alluded to above. The presence of gills on one or
defined as euchelicerates which lack axial nodes on their opistho- more of these opercula is equivocal. Intriguingly, there are
somal segments. In other words the tergites covering the dorsal Cambrian resting traces of a Chasmataspis-like animal (Dunlop
surface are usually smooth and the raised nodes seen in, for et al., 2004, Figs. 9e10) which seem to show at least three further
example, horseshoe crabs are absent (although a number of taxa small opercula apparently on the first three postabdominal seg-
reverse this condition). This grade of organisation encompasses ments (i.e. somites XIeXIII). This would yield a total of six opercula,
several former synziphosurine taxa, as well as the chasmataspidids, as per the genital operculum and five gill opercula of horseshoe
eurypterids and arachnids, essentially representing Dekatriata and crabs. The opisthosoma in chasmataspidids terminates in a styli-
the paraphyletic grade leading to it. form or spatulate telson which is usually quite short in
diploaspidids.
3.8. Dekatriata
The name Dekatriata was introduced by Lamsdell (2013) and 3.9. Sclerophorata
defined as euchelicerates having, at least in their ground pattern, an
opisthosoma with 13 segments. This condition can be recognised in The name Sclerophorata was introduced by Kamenz et al.
chasmataspidids, eurypterids and scorpions. However, we should (2011) for Eurypterida and Arachnida and defined as eucheli-
note that all other arachnid orders have, in this scenario, reduced cerates which transfer sperm via a spermatophore, as opposed to
their counts to 12 or less (see below). Recently, Lamsdell et al. just releasing their sperm into the water as per horseshoe crabs.
(2015b) described an intriguing fossil, Winneshiekia youngae Note that several arachnids e e.g. spiders, ricinuleids, most har-
Lamsdell et al., 2015, from the Ordovician Winneshiek Lagerst€ atte vestmen, and some mites e have taken this a stage further and
of the USA as a member of the Dekatriata clade. It preserves a use direct methods of insemination. The likely mode of sperm
combination of xiphosuran-like features, such as a semicircular transfer in eurypterids was revealed thanks to some exceptionally
head shield with ophthalmic ridges, together with a 13-segmented preserved fossils showing a ‘horn organ’ in the genital region (e.g.
opisthosoma. Limbs are, unfortunately, unknown; thus it is not Holm 1898: pl. 3, Fig. 24e25) which was interpreted by Kamenz
included in the comparative figures here. et al. (2011) as a sclerotized precursor to a spermatophore. The
mode of sperm transfer in chasmataspidids is unknown although
3.8.1. Chasmataspididay as noted above at least some taxa also have a eurypterid-like
Chasmataspidids (Chasmataspidida) are a rare group of ? genital appendage (see 3.8.1), albeit without obvious horn or-
CambrianeDevonian euchelicerates, some of which were origi- gans. It is thus conceivable that Sclerophorata could be equivalent
nally interpreted as unusual horseshoe crabs. A summary can be to Dekatriata. The name Sclerophorata is also largely equivalent to
found in Marshall et al. (2014). Of the eleven known species, the the Metastomata clade of Weygoldt and Paulus (1979). Their
Ordovician Chasmataspis laurencii Caster and Brooks, 1956 (family defining character of a plate-like metastoma on somite VII may
Chasmataspididae) expresses a horseshoe crab-like head shield have a homologue in the scorpion sternum (see 3.10), but is not
complete with genal spines (Dunlop et al., 2004). Younger fossils demonstrably present in other arachnids; hence the proposed
(family Diploaspididae) tend to be more eurypterid-like in name change to Sclerophorata.
3.9.1. Eurypteriday 3.10. Arachnida

Eurypterids were an OrdovicianePermian group with around
250 described species. They exhibited a range of body plans and Arachnids are, by some measure, the most diverse chelicerates
some grew to more than 2 m long. Traditionally, eurypterids could today with more than 100,000 described living species and perhaps
be defined by the presence of a genital appendage on the underside up to a million based on estimates of the number of undescribed
of the opisthosoma and a plate-like metastoma on somite VII. Like mites (Krantz and Walter, 2009). Historically, there has been debate
the chilaria of living horseshoe crabs, the eurypterid metastoma about whether they are monophyletic; in particular whether
was apparently functionally integrated into the prosoma, covering scorpions might be more closely related to eurypterids than to
the posterior gnathobases of the prosomal limbs. The discovery of other arachnids (e.g. Braddy et al., 1999). Cladistic analyses usually
both a genital appendage and a metastoma in chasmataspidids (see recovered a monophyletic Arachnida (Weygoldt and Paulus, 1979;
3.8.1) undermined these traditional defining characters. Lamsdell Shultz, 2007a; Pepato et al., 2010; Regier et al., 2010; Garwood
(2013) thus redefined Eurypterida on the apomorphy of a genital and Dunlop, 2014a; Sharma et al., 2014b), although a stable phy-
operculum which appears to be derived from two elements; the logeny based on morphological and/or molecular data has not been
modified appendages of somites VIII and IX respectively. An addi- forthcoming. Most arachnids are terrestrial and caution is needed
tional potential autapomorphy is the possession of enlarged, robust to tease out potential autapomorphies for the group from homo-
coxal teeth on limb VI (JCL, pers. obs.). Eurypterid morphology has plastic response to life on land. For example tracheal systems for
been studied in detail by, e.g., Holm (1898) and Selden (1981). terrestrial respiration appear to have arisen on multiple occasions,
Eurypterids apparently have 19 somites e the Dekatriata syn- with spiracles opening on different somites in different arachnid
apomorphy e with a clear 6 þ 13 division into a prosoma and taxa (Figs. 3e5). In terms of defining apomorphies, arachnids can
opisthosoma (Fig. 2). Somites IeVI are covered by a unitary pro- potentially be characterised by a (1) reduced head shield lacking a
somal dorsal shield (or carapace). This bore both median ocelli and cardiac lobe, (2) an anteroventrally directed mouth with no pro-
compound lateral eyes. Limb I is a chelate chelicera with three ar- ventricular crop, (3) a single genital opening rather than a pair of
ticles. Limbs IIeVI act as legs whereby some taxa show modifica- openings, and (4), at least in adult instars, loss of appendages on the
tions of the posterior limbs into swimming paddles. Similar to first opisthosomal segment (somite VII).
modern horseshoe crabs, there is a small endostoma (Selden, 1981: However, the last point has to be qualified by noting that there is
Fig. 2), between the leg coxae which could be homologous with the embryological evidence for a transitory pair of appendages on
labium and/or sternum of arachnids. The eurypterid opisthosoma segment VII of scorpions (see 3.10.1), and there is also a hypothesis
has 13 somites, but only 12 segments can be clearly recognised. that the scorpion sternum could be homologous with the euryp-
Whether the first tergite is expressed is a contentious issue. Dunlop terid metastoma (Jeram, 1998: p. 27). Observations on scorpion
and Webster (1999: Figs. 2e3) offered evidence that it may be development by Farley (2005) further suggested that the scorpion
retained as a weakly sclerotized region in a fold behind the pro- sternum is derived from both the first opisthosomal segment e
somal dorsal shield and further specimens may also provide evi- although it is unclear whether this is from the limb buds or from
dence for this tergite (JCL, pers. obs. on a Buffalopterus from the the sternite e as well as medial, bilateral lobes derived from coxae
Peabody Museum), however Haug et al. (2012c) suggested that of the third and fourth walking legs.
valley folds may be secondarily sclerotized and not represent true
tergites. The unusual mycteroptid eurypterids fuse the tergite of 3.10.1. Scorpiones
somite VIII to the back of the prosomal dorsal shield. Tagmosis Scorpions (Scorpiones) were often treated as sister group to all
within the opisthosoma can be a source of confusion. As summar- other arachnids (e.g. Weygoldt and Paulus, 1979), perhaps in part
ised by Lamsdell (2011), some eurypterids have a rather scorpion- due to their resemblance to eurypterids. Alternatively they have
like habitus in which the last five opisthosomal segments are been grouped close to harvestmen (Shultz, 2000) or with the other
noticeably narrower. Several authors thus divided the opisthosoma lung-bearing arachnids (Sharma et al., 2014b). Details of scorpion
into a seven-segmented preabdomen (somites VIIIeXIV) and a morphology can be found in, e.g., Shultz (2007b). A long-standing
narrower five-segmented postabdomen (somites XVeXIX). How- debate has been whether scorpions have twelve or thirteen opis-
ever, in other eurypterids the opisthosoma tapers smoothly to- thosomal segments. Twelve are clearly visible externally, but early
wards the back and the point of pre- and postabdominal work by Brauer (1895) observed the transitory pair of pregenital
contraction is ambiguous. Lamsdell (2011) preferred a more natural appendages in scorpion embryos noted above. This observation
division into a six-segmented mesosoma (somites VIIIeXIII), all of forces the recognition of an additional opisthosomal somite,
which retain ventral opercula, and a six-segmented metasoma although authors such as Weygoldt and Paulus (1979) suggested
(somites XIVeXIX) on which appendages are completely lacking. that the pectines could belong to the genital somite, which would
As noted above, somite VII bore the metastomal plate, inter- return the total count to twelve. The gene expression data of
preted as highly modified and fused appendages. Somites VIIIeIX Simonnet et al. (2006) confirmed both the presence of a pregenital
were covered ventrally by a single large genital operculum which somite (VII), and that the pectines belong to a separate, postgenital,
bore a median abdominal (or genital) appendage associated with somite (IX). An opisthosoma with thirteen somites was also docu-
the paired gonopores. Four more plate-like appendages occupy mented morphologically by Shultz (2007b), who proposed a pre-
somites XeXIV. These opercula are sometimes referred to as genital compression hypothesis in which somite VII became
Plattfüße: literally ‘plate-feet’. Braddy et al. (1999) offered evidence longitudinally shortened and in which the muscles of somites VII
that there were four pairs of lamellate respiratory organs, pre- and VIII have been brought into close proximity to one another to
sumably also belonging to somites XeXIV. In addition to these form a diaphragm which largely separates the scorpion prosoma
presumptive book gills, eurypterids have five pairs of gill tracts; internally from the opisthosoma. In some respects this is similar to
oval areas of spongy cuticle with downward-hanging spines on the the pedicel of spiders and their relatives in which there is an
underside of somites IXeXIV which have been interpreted as external constriction between the two main body tagmata; in
having a respiratory function too (reviewed by Manning and scorpions it is an internal constriction.
Dunlop, 1995). As noted above, the metasoma lacks appendages Scorpions thus have 19 somites e the groundplan for Dekatriata
and the opisthosoma terminates in a telson. This is usually styli- e with a clear 6 þ 13 division into a prosoma and opisthosoma
form, but can be spatulate in some genera. (Fig. 3). Similar to the eurypterid condition, somite VII is poorly
expressed externally such that 12 opisthosomal segments can be limbs IIIeVI act as walking legs. In the non-cyphopthalmids limb IV
seen. Somites IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (the second walking leg) is longer and used as a tactile device.
(or carapace). Scorpions have a pair of median eyes and groups of Usually there is no sternum, except in some cyphophthalmids.
lateral eyes with up to five lenses. Note that some extinct scorpions Dorsally the tergites of somites VIIeXV show a range of fusion
retained fully compound lateral eyes with more than 30 lenses. patterns: In the scutum laminatum condition all opisthosomal ter-
Limb I is a chelate chelicera, limb II forms the chelate pedipalps and gites are free, in the scutum parvum the first five tergites (VIIeXI)
limbs IIIeVI act as walking legs. Unlike other arachnids with a are fused, in the scutum magnum these five fused tergites are
sternum, the scorpion sternum (see above) sits behind e rather further fused to the carapace, and in the scutum completum the
than between e the leg coxae which further supports the idea that carapace and tergites together form a unitary dorsal shield (Shultz
these sterna are not homologous. However scorpions also have a & Pinto-da Rocha, 2007: Fig. 2.4). Ventrally, the gonopore in har-
tiny and thus often overlooked anterior postoral sclerite (Shultz, vestmen has been displaced forwards between the leg coxae. The
2007b) between the leg coxae, which could potentially be homo- first sternite of the opisthosoma (somite VII) are the small arculi
logus with the endostoma of eurypterids and horseshoe crabs and/ genitales which form the anterior border of the pregenital chamber.
or sternum of other arachnids. In cyphopthalmids and Tetrophthalmi the gonopore is open in
The opisthosoma has thirteen somites. As noted above, the first adults (it is closed in juvenile cyphophthalmids), but in other har-
is not expressed dorsally and is only seen ventrally as embryonic vestmen the second sternite (somite VIII) contributes to a genital
appendages, which may or may not eventually form the sternum. operculum which covers this opening. Male harvestmen have a
The opisthosoma is divided into a mesosoma (somites VIIeXIV) and spermatopositor (cyphophthalmids) or a penis (all other suborders)
a metasoma (somites XVeXIX). Somite IX bears the pectines; so- and females have an ovipositor. Previous studies (e.g. Shultz 2000)
mites XeXIII bear the four pairs of book lungs. Based on what we did not treat them as appendage derivatives. Somite VIII also bears
know about tetrapulmonate arachnids (Shultz 1993) the sclerites the spiracles for a pair of tracheae. As noted above, the anal oper-
covering these book lungs may also be highly modified appendages culum may effectively represent the telson.
and fossil scorpions are also typically described as having opis-
thosomal opercula (e.g. Jeram, 1998). There is considerable debate 3.10.3. Phalangiotarbiday
in the literature about whether these somites in early fossil scor- Phalangiotarbids are an unusual-looking, extinct order which
pions bore lungs or gills (see e.g. Dunlop et al., 2008). Compared to ranged from the Devonian to the Permian. They have been likened
the opisthosomas of other arachnids, there is a very marked dif- either to harvestmen or opilioacarid mites, but a recent attempt to
ferentiation in both structure and function between the mesosoma resolve their phylogenetic position (Garwood and Dunlop, 2014a)
of scorpions and the more slender metasoma. The mesosoma was unable to recover a robust position for this group as a number
contains various internal organs while the segments of the meta- of key characters, such as the nature of the mouthparts, remain
soma are ring-like and form a highly maneuverable tail allowing equivocal. Accounts of their external morphology can be found in,
the animal to sting its prey. Sharma et al. (2014a, 2015) proposed e.g., Dunlop and Horrocks (1997) and Pollitt et al. (2004). Pha-
the duplication of a specific set of Hox genes e specifically the langiotarbids (Fig. 3) probably have 16 somites with a clear 6 þ 10?
neofunctionalization of several Hox paralogs e as a mechanism by division into a broadly joined prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites
which this differentiation may have been achieved. Finally, the IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace).
telson is uniquely modified into a sting, composed of a more This bore a single ocular tubercle with three pairs of lenses. As
rounded vesicle and sharply tapering aculeus. The vesicle contains noted above, the morphology of the chelicerae is equivocal, limb II
a pair of venom glands which open near the tip of the aculeus. is a tiny, pediform pedipalp and limbs IIIeVI act as walking legs.
There are four or five small sternal plates between the leg coxae.
3.10.2. Opiliones The dorsal tergites covering the first six opisthosomal somites
Harvestman (Opiliones) external anatomy has been studied by, (VIIeXII) are highly abbreviated. A similar abbreviation is seen in
e.g., Hansen and Sørensen (1904) and more recently by Shultz opilioacarid mites (see 3.10.8), but in the mites the tergites are not
(2000) and Shultz & Pinto-da Rocha (2007). Harvestmen are so strongly expressed. Somites XIIIeXV in phalangiotarbids were
traditionally interpreted as having sixteen somites; although in the either covered dorsally by three large tergites, or in some taxa these
scheme of Shultz (2000) the anal operculum was homologised with three elements have fused together into a single shield. Ventrally
the telson of other arachnids in that it is a single postanal plate the anterior opisthosomal sternites are similarly short and
without division into tergites and sternites. The Hox gene data of concentrated like the anterior tergites and there is some evidence
Sharma et al. (2012a: Fig. 9) also recognised fifteen somites and this for two pairs of spiracles, perhaps opening on somites X and XI
is the count adopted here in the present review. Harvestmen ex- (Dunlop and Horrocks, 1997: Fig. 6). A ring-like segment (somite
press a range of dorsal fusion patterns (see below) which makes it XVI) surrounds the anal operculum. Oddly, the anal operculum of
difficult to select a ‘typical’ segmental morphology for the group. phalangiotarbids is a dorsal structure. If we adopt Shultz's (2000)
Opiliones (Fig. 3) thus have 15 somites with a clear 6 þ 9 division argument from harvestmen that the anal operculum lacks ter-
into a broadly joined prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites IeVI are gites and sternites we can potentially interpret the phalangiotarbid
usually covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace), anal operculum as a telson too.
although in some taxa the posterior two somites (V and VI) may be
differentiated with separate tergites. The dorsal shield can bear 3.10.4. Palpigradi
lateral eyes (some cyphophthalmids) or median eyes in the three Palpigrades are small, blind, poorly-sclerotized creatures. They
suborders making up the Phalangida clade. The extinct suborder have been envisaged by some authors as the most primitive
Tetrophthalmi shows evidence for both median and lateral eyes, arachnids (e.g. Savory, 1974) in that they appear to express several
and gene expression data in living species support the notion that plesiomorphic character states. Detailed accounts of their external
both types of eyes were present in the harvestman groundplan anatomy can be found in, e.g., Bo €rner (1901), Rowland and Sissom
(Garwood et al., 2014). The ventral margin of the harvestman dorsal (1980) and van der Hammen (1989). Palpigrades (Fig. 3) have 17
shield accommodates the pleural ozopores, which are connected to somites with a clear 6 þ 11 division into a prosoma and opistho-
repugnatorial glands. Limb I is a chelate chelicera, limb II forms the soma and a distinct narrowing of the body at somite VII. There is no
pedipalps, which can be raptorial in the suborder Laniatores, and unitary prosomal dorsal shield. Instead the first four somites (IeIV)
of the prosoma are covered by an eyeless propeltidium. Somite V is organs called malleoli or racquet organs. There is a projecting
associated with a mesopeltidium divided into two sclerites. This is epistomo-labral plate and associated lateral lips, but no sternum.
followed by an undivided metapeltidium covering somite VI. Limb I The opisthosoma is rather soft and composed of eleven segments
is a chelate chelicera, limb II is a pediform pedipalp and limbs IIIeVI (somites VIIeXVII). Tracheal spiracles open ventrally between
are walking legs; whereby it should be noted that in these arach- segments IV and V on the prosoma and, as in pseudoscorpions, on
nids the pedipalps are not much differentiated from the legs and segments IX and X of the opisthosoma. In some taxa there are also
also contribute towards locomotion (Rowland and Sissom, 1980). tracheal spiracles on somite XI as well. There is no telson.
The deuto- and tritosternum of somites IIeIII are fused and there
are three further separate sternal plates associated with somites IV, 3.10.7. Acariformes
V and VI respectively. The opisthosoma has eleven segments, the Mites are now conventionally treated as two distinct orders e
first (somite VII) short and narrow. Ventrally somite VII bears the for which we here adopt the names Acariformes and Parasitiformes
genital opening. Palpigrades lack respiratory organs, but somites IX, e given that there are some quite significant differences in their
X and XII bear evaginations usually referred to as verrucae (van der morphology (Dunlop and Alberti, 2008) and that recent cladistic
Hammen, 1989) or ventral sacs which have been suggested as analyses do not always recover Acari as monophyletic (Shultz,
highly modified appendage derivatives. Somites XVeXVII are nar- 2007a; Pepato et al., 2010). Some phylogenies grouped mites with
row, ring-like and form a short postabdomen (or pygidium in some ricinuleids (e.g. Weygoldt and Paulus, 1979) based on the presence
terminologies). The telson is flagelliform. We should, however, note of a hexapodal instar (the hatching larva has only six legs), although
the observations of Monniot (1970) and Rowland and Sissom as noted above other data recovered at least the acariform mites as
(1980) who found the cuticle and setae of the first flagellar sister-group to camel spiders. Irrespective of their affinities, there is
segment to be more like that of the body than of the rest of the no such thing as a ‘typical’ mite, and caution should be exercised
telson. In this hypothesis the basal flagellar segment could actually when trying to reconstruct a groundplan either for all mites or for
be a somite (XVIII). This would yield a 12 segmented opisthosoma, either of the two orders. Their small size and often weakly
but would necessitate a shift of the anal opening back onto somite expressed external segmentation mean that matching the observed
XVII. morphology to the underlying somites is extremely challenging
and often has to be based on inferences of patterns of cuticular
3.10.5. Pseudoscorpiones structures such as setae or lyrifissures: an acarological term for the
Pseudoscorpions (Pseudoscorpiones) superficially resemble slit sense organs. The textbook of Krantz and Walter (2009) noted
scorpions, but have usually been interpreted as the sister-group of that counts for mites in general vary in the published literature
Solifugae forming a clade Haplocnemata (but see below). A detailed from 12 to 22 somites, depending on the group being studied and
morphological account can be found in Weygoldt (1969). Pseudo- the interpretation of individual authors. It should also be stressed
scorpiones (Fig. 3) have 18 somites with a clear 6 þ 12 division into that these animals often add posterior body segments during
a broadly connected prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites IeVI are development, thus the final complement of somites may only be
covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (a carapace or scutum), achieved in later instars. Two major lineages of acariform mites can
although in some taxa (e.g. Weygoldt, 1969: Fig. 1) this may bear be recognised: Sarcoptiformes and Trombidiformes.
two transverse furrows, perhaps reflecting a 4 þ 1 þ 1 pattern. Limb At the base of the sarcoptiform mites are the Endeostigmata;
I is a chelate chelicera with two articles, limb II forms the chelate some of which have been referred to as ‘segmented mites’ in that
pedipalps and limbs IIIeVI act as walking legs. There is a projecting several species retain evidence of external segmentation. One of
epistomo-labral plate and associated lateral lips, but no sternum. them, Alycus roseus, is something of a model taxon for assessing
The opisthosoma has twelve segments (somites VIIeXVIII). In some mite segmetation (Kramer, 1882; van der Hammen, 1989). As in
species the tergites are medially divided. As noted by Weygoldt many acariform mites, the principal external division of the body is
(1969: Fig. 11), there are eleven dorsally visible tergites, but the between the second and third pair of walking legs. This dividing
pregenital segment (somite VII) lacks a sternite. Tracheal spiracles line is known as the disjugal furrow dorsally and the sejugal furrow
open ventrally on somites IX and X. The posteriormost segment ventrally. It defines an anterior pseudotagma, usually referred to as
(somite XVIII) forms a small anal cone which can be retracted into the prodorsum, proterosoma or aspidosoma (Fig. 4), which pre-
the previous segment. There is no telson. sumably corresponds to somites IeIV (but see below). Somites I and
II represent the chelate chelicerae and the pedipalps respectively,
3.10.6. Solifugae which together form the gnathosoma with projecting epistomo-
As noted above camel spiders (Solifugae) have traditionally been labral plate and associated lateral lips. Note again the data of
allied with pseudoscorpions, although some data place Solifugae Barnett and Thomas (2013a) arguing that acariform mites have
closer to the Acariformes mite clade (e.g. Pepato et al., 2010). A three cheliceral articles in their ground pattern. The appendages of
detailed morphological account can be found in Kaestner (1932) somites IIeVI form the walking legs. It is widely presumed that in
and Roewer (1933). Camel spiders (Fig. 3) have 17 somites with a adult endeostigmatids there are ten segments behind the pro-
6 þ 11 division into a prosoma and opisthosoma and a narrowing dorsum, the first two of which are interpreted as having fused and
around somite VII. Similar to the condition in palpigrades, the first the four posteriormost of which are acquired during ontogeny.
four somites (IeIV) of the prosoma are covered by a propeltidium These segments are conventially named C (1 and 2), D, E, F, H, PS,
bearing median eyes and vestigial lateral eyes. The propeltidium AD, PA & AN (e.g. Walter, 2001: Fig. 1), whereby PS is the pseudanal
itself is quite complex and constructed from several individual el- segment, AD the adanal segment, PA the preanal segment, and AN
ements (Roewer, 1933: Figs. 13e14) which could potentially reflect the anal segment (Fig. 4). The real question is how should these be
the underlying somites. Somite V is associated with a mesopelti- matched to the underlying somites, and in particular what has
dium and somite VI with a metapeltidium. Limb I is a massive happened to the dorsal expression of somites V and VI? In van der
chelate chelicera with two articles. Limb II forms the large pediform Hammen's (1989) scheme the anterior division of the body was
pedipalps with the unique apomorphy of an adhesive palpal organ effectively a true prosoma (somites IeVI) e the prodorsum also
at the tip. Limbs IIIeVI act as walking legs, whereby limb III is often bears six pairs of setae e making the 10 opisthosomal somites
smaller and more slender than the other legs and has a more tactile VIIeXVI to yield a total somite count of 16. However, if the first
function. The proximal articles of limb VI uniquely bear sensory visible segment behind the prodorsum is somite V, then the
remaining segments would represent somites VeXV for a total This translates either into a 2 þ 15 tagmosis pattern for the gna-
count of only 14. thosoma and idiosoma, or a 6 þ 11 tagmosis pattern for the pros-
The same problem applies to understanding the largest group of oma and opisthosoma (but see opilioacarids below). Note that
sarcoptifom mites, the Oribatida, whereby the Astigmata probably Klompen et al.'s paper counted the ocular somite as number I and
evolved from within the oribatids. Weigmann (2001, Figs. 1e2) we have modified their counts here to make them comparable with
critically discussed alternative hypotheses of segmentation in the our other taxa.
literature and rejected van der Hammen's (1989) interpretations of Opilioacarid mites are rare, but are generally assumed to be
a larger number of somites for acarifom mites in general in favour of closest to the original parasitiform morphology in that they express
an older scheme, largely based on Grandjean (1934). Here, as above, several plesiomorphic characters, including evidence of external
somites IeII form the gnathosoma with the chelicerae and pedi- segmentation. Van der Hammen (1989, and references therein)
palps, while appendages IIIeIV are walking legs and form the summarised their general morphology and recognised 19 somites,
propodosoma. The first four somites (IeIV) are covered dorsally by of which the pregenital and genital somites (VII þ VIII) are dorsally
the prodorsum and are separated from the hysterosoma by the fused, although in some of his earlier studies 20 somites were
disjugal furrow (Fig. 4). This is hopefully uncontroversial. Ap- accepted under the assumption that the anal cone represented two
pendages VeVI are also legs and constitute the metapodosoma. somites. Klompen et al. (2015: Fig. 6) recognised only 17 somites,
Critically, and in contrast to van der Hammen (1989), the next drawing on interpretations of development and the distribution of
dorsal element in Weigmann's scheme e i.e. the first somite of the rows of lyrifissures and setae. Fusion of somites VII and VIII was not
hysterosoma e is somite V and there is no clear evidence that it is a supported, and in their scheme the dorsal shield is not a full pro-
fused element; as per the C1 & 2 scenario above. Thus in this model somal dorsal shield, but corresponds to somites IeV only. Two or
the hysterosoma in the groundplan of oribatid mites consists of a three pairs of lateral eyes are present on this dorsal shield. In the
total of 9 somites (VeXIII) dorsally labelled C, D, E, F, H, PS, AD, PA & gnathosoma limb I is the chelicera e here chelate and unequivo-
AN, to yield a grand total of only 13. cally with three articles e and limb II forms the pedipalps; limbs
Another way of looking at the problem is to consider develop- IIIeVI form the walking legs. The region behind the dorsal shield
mental genetics and ventral morphology. Barnett and Thomas includes twelve somites VIeXVII. The first of these (VI) thus
(2012) studied the segmentation genes engrailed and hedgehog effectively belongs to the prosoma. The first six somites (VIeXI) are
and demonstrated that the oribatid mite Archegozetes longisetosus expressed externally with short segments. The remainder largely
patterns only two opisthsomal segments, implying considerable has to be inferred, but the anal cone is assumed to represent somite
fusion or loss compared to the arachnid ground pattern. Interest- XVII. In this scheme the tracheae open dorsally on somites VIIIeXI
ingly, the development of the fourth walking leg segment in this and the genital opening is flanked by a pair of genital verrucae
species is, uniquely for arachnids, temporally tied to opisthosomal which could be appendage-derived.
segmentation, although in fairness this has not been tested across a Mesostigmatids are the most diverse parasitiform mites both in
wider sampling of different groups. Other somites almost certainly terms of their species number and their ecologies. Authors such as
contributed to the (adult) hysterosoma, but have not yet been Christian and Karg (2008) e drawing on Coineau (1974) e recog-
demonstrated by these molecular methods (Richard Thomas, pers. nised a total of only 13 somites; similar to Weigmann's model for
comm. 2015). Given that the ovipositor of acariform mites and the oribatids (Fig. 4). This implies the loss of several opisthsosomal
three pairs of genital acetabula may be appendage-derived, these somites compared to the opilioacarid condition and arachnids in
also need to be integrated somehow into the segmentation pattern. general. A gnathosoma bearing the three-articled chelicerae (limb
This is far from being a straightforward process. One model I) and the pedipalps (limb II) are fairly obvious. Mesostigmatids
(Richard Thomas, pers. comm) might recognise nine ‘opisthosomal’ often present two large shields dorsally, although in many taxa they
segments: no limb (1), the ovipositor (2e3), the three pairs of are fused into a single dorsal sclerite. Christian and Karg (2008:
genital acertabula (4e6) and the three segments around the anal Figs. 1e2) used setal patterns to recognise a groundplan condition
region (7e9). The problem here is that in the Weigmann model of a body divided dorsally into an eyeless prodorsum covering six
somites VeVI bear walking legs, leaving only seven somites somites (IIIeVIII), in which the pregenital and genital somites
(VIIeXIII) to accommodate these nine elements hypothesised VII þ VIII are presumed to be fused, and a postdorsum covering five
above. Removing the ovipositor from the segment count e or somites (IXeXIII). Limbs IIIeVI form the walking legs. Klompen
treating it as endopod-derived with the genital acertabula as exo- et al. (2015: Figs. 8c. 10) attempted to reconcile these observa-
pods? e could resolve this problem, but clearly further work is tions with their 17 somite groundplan, but conceded that meso-
required to reconcile the published data into a unified model of stigmatids were challenging in this context. In their model the anal
acariform mite segmentation. valves represent somite XVII, there is preanal segment (somite XVI)
and five postdorsal segments delimited by the so-called ‘J1eJ5’
3.10.8. Parasitiformes setal patterns (somites XIeXV). The prodorsal setae ‘j4ej6’ may
Parasitiform mites (Parasitiformes) encompass the Opilioacar- correspond to somites VIIeX, again assuming that VII þ VIII are
ida, Holothyrida, Mesostigmata (predatory mites) and Ixodida fused, and the more anterior ‘j1ej3’ setae are presumed to corre-
(ticks). Three of the four groups are illustrated here. Segmentation spond to several of the more anterior somites. In the absence of, for
in holothyrids has attracted little research. The dorsal surface is example, gene expression data it is currently difficult to say which
covered by a unitary shield and even van der Hammen (1989) was of these models is correct. Yet as with the ticks below, it poses a
not able to reconstruct a segmentation pattern here. Like acariform fundamental question of whether all parasitiform mites retain the
mites, parasitiforms have a gnathosoma (somites IeII) as a func- groundplan tagmosis of the order or whether there has been a
tional unit bearing the chelicerae and pedipalps. The rest of the major suppression and/or loss of the posterior somites within the
body is traditionally referred to as the idiosoma. The hatching larva parasitiform lineage, similar to the condition in, say, sea spiders.
is hexapodal, as in acariform mites, and the last walking leg (limb A summary of tick morphology can be found in Sonenshine
VI) is expressed in subsequent instars. Reconstructing segmenta- (1991). The gnathosoma is modified for sucking blood. The small
tion for opilioacarids, mesostigmatids and ticks has also proven chelicerae (limb I) have two articles, the distal one serrated to cut
problematic. Here, we orientate ourselves on Klompen et al. (2015) into skin. The pedipalps (limb II) are also small, with only four ar-
who inferred 17 somites as the Parasitiformes groundplan (Fig. 4). ticles, and both the chelicerae and pedipalps are intimately
associated with a hypostome bearing backward-pointing spines together. Dorsally, the first opisthosomal tergite (somite VII) tucks
which is inserted into the host. The idiosoma is sometimes divided under the posterior margin of the prosomal dorsal shield as part of
into a podosoma (somites IIIeVI) bearing the walking legs, and an this locking mechanism. The next tergite is short but may represent
opisthosoma comprising the remaining somites (Fig. 4). Dorsally, somites (VIIIeIX). The remaining tergites are clearly diplotergites
the idiosoma does not present any external transverse segmenta- and in this scheme represent somites XeXI, XIIeXIII and XIVeXV
tion but forms a continuous integument, often with a distinct plate, respectively. Ventrally, there are some difficulties in understanding
the scutum, covering the anterior part. In some genera the scutum the segmentation. The genital opening e a traditional landmark for
bears a pair of simple lateral eyes, but it is difficult to homologise somite VIII e is projected forwards and opens on the pedicel. It has
the scutal plate with any given set of somites (Klompen et al., 2015). two sclerotized lips, but it's not clear if these correspond to somites
Ventrally there are several plates, including a pregenital plate, a VI and/or VII. The first visible sternite may thus correspond to so-
median plate and an anal plate. The genital opening is thrust for- mite IX. The next three sternites are large and evidently correspond
ward between the leg coxae and a pair of spiracles open behind the to the large diplotergites representing somites XeXV in this
last pair of legs. The traditional model based on embryology (e.g. scheme. The last three opisthosomal segments (somites XVIeXVIII)
Aeschlimann and Hess, 1984) recognises only five opisthosomal lack division into tergites and sternites and form a small, retractable
somites in ticks (VIIeXI) for a total of eleven somites, plus the anal postabdomen, or pygidium in some terminologies. There is no
valves assumed to be homologous with the telson. However, telson.
Klompen et al. (2015) cautioned that segments sometime develop
late in embryogenesis and antibody staining by Santos et al. (2013: 3.10.10. Trigonotarbiday
Fig. 8) found evidence for up to eight (somites VIIeXIV). A key Trigonotarbids (Trigonotarbida) are an extinct order which
question for ticks is whether a series of indentations called festoons ranged from the Silurian to the Permian. A detailed account of their
around the posterior margin of the body in at least the hard ticks morphology based on exceptionally preserved Devonian material
(Ixodidae) are also indicators of original segmentation, as proposed can be found in Fayers et al. (2005), with further details of the limbs
by Schultze (1932). Klompen et al. (2015) assumed this to be the in Dunlop et al. (2009) and Garwood and Dunlop (2014b). Trig-
case e although it should be stressed that not all authors accept this onotarbids belong to a larger, widely accepted clade of arachnids
interpretation e and reconciled this with their 17 somite ground- known as the Pantetrapulmonata (cf.Shultz, 2007a), all of whom
plan as follows. Somites IeVI form the prosoma (¼ have two pairs of book lungs, at least in their groundplan. Trig-
gnathosoma þ podosoma), somites VIIeXVII the opisthosoma. Of onotarbids appear to have 18 somites (Fig. 5), with a clear 6 þ 12
these, XIeXV correspond to the five pairs of lateral festoons, the division into a prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites IeVI are covered
central unpaired festoon (or parma) is somite XVI and the anal by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace). This bears both
valves are somite XVII. This scheme of Klompen et al. (2015) is median eyes and in at least some taxa lateral eyes too, consisting of
summarised as their Fig. 9. groups of multiple lenses. Limb I is a clasp-knife chelicera, limb II
formed the pediform pedipalp, which in at least some species ends
3.10.9. Ricinulei in a small chela similar to that of ricinuleids. Limbs IIIeVI represent
Ricinuleids (Ricinulei) are a rare order. Traditionally they have the walking legs. There is a labium and a single sternum between
been allied with mites, given that both groups express a hexapodal the leg coxae. The opisthosoma has 12 segments (somites VIIeX-
larva, however ricinuleids also share several characters relating to VIII); although erroneous counts of 8e11 can be found in the older
body segmentation and pedipalp structure with the extinct trig- literature (e.g. Petrunkevitch, 1955). The first tergite (somite VII)
onotarbids (e.g. Dunlop et al., 2009) which could imply that they was modified into a locking ridge which tucked under the carapace
are closer to, or even part of, the wider Pantetrapulmonata clade. and the first sternite appears to have been absent. In many trig-
Detailed accounts of ricinuleid morphology can be found in Hansen onotarbids tergites 2 þ 3 were fused into a diplotergite. Dorsally,
and Sørensen (1904). A problem with these animals is that several tergites 2 to 9 were characteristically divided into one median and
opisthosomal segments have evidently fused. Certain fossils two lateral plates, again similar to the condition in ricinuleids,
(Selden, 1992: Fig. 28) reveal two pairs of muscle apodemes on the while in one trigonotarbid family (Anthracomartidae) these ter-
three largest tergites which is good evidence that these are dip- gites were further subdivided to yield five plates per segment.
losegments corresponding to two original somites. The question is Well-preserved fossils reveal that somites VIII and IX each had a
whether the short tergite in front of these three is also a double pair of book lungs, and the sclerites covering these lungs were
segment, as in van der Hammen's (1989) scheme for example. probably modified opercula sensu Shultz (1993). At least somite IX
Given the uncertainties in establishing an unequivocal segmenta- also bore a pair of ventral sacs e similar to their occurrence in whip
tion pattern somite counts of 17e19 can be found in the literature. spiders (see 3.10.14) e and some trigonotarbids may have borne
The scheme presented here is thus somewhat tentative. further ventral sacs on the next couple of somites too. The last three
Ricinuleids (Fig. 3) are inferred here to have 18 somites (Fig. 5), opisthosomal segments lacked division into tergites and sternites
with a 6 þ 12 division into a prosoma and opisthosoma. Somites and the last two (somites XVIIeXVIII) projected slightly as a small
IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or carapace). postabdomen, or pygidium in some terminologies. There is no
The front of this shield is hinged and forms the cucullus, a flap-like telson.
structure covering the mouthparts. Modern ricinuleids have, at
best, only light-sensitive patches laterally, but fossil taxa clearly had 3.10.11. Uraraneiday
two pairs of lateral eyes. Limb I approaches the condition of a clasp- Uraraneidids (Uraraneida) are extinct, spider-like arachnids
knife chelicera, limb II formed the pediform pedipalp, which ter- known from two fossils from the Devonian of the USA and the
minates in a small chela formed from the tarsus and apotele. Limbs Permian of Russia respectively. A recent account was given by
IIIeVI act as walking legs whereby limb IV is longest and used in a Selden et al. (2008). The Devonian fossil is known from cuticle
somewhat tactile fashion, while limb V of males bears a sperm- fragments while the Permian fossil from the ventral surface only,
transfer device. There is no sternum. Tracheae open into the pros- thus several aspects of their morphology remain equivocal. From
oma with a pair of spiracles between the third and fourth leg (so- what is known, they appear to have been fairly similar to mesothele
mites V and VI). Ricinuleids have a complex pedicel region, which is spiders (see below) and we can infer the presence of 18 somites
normally concealed because the prosoma and opisthosoma ‘lock’ with a 6 þ 12 division into a prosoma and opisthosoma. Limb I was
a clasp-knife chelicera; limb II was a pediform pedipalp, and limbs lacks obvious external segmentation. The posteriormost segment
IIIeVI formed the walking legs. We do not know if males had a (XVIII) forms an anal tubercle. There is no telson.
modified palpal organ like in spiders. The presence of a labium is
equivocal, but there is a single sternum between the leg coxae. 3.10.13. Haptopoday
Significantly, Uraraneida had spigots on the ventral surface of the Haptopoda is an extinct, monotypic order known only from one
opisthosoma for producing silk, but lack the distinct spinnerets locality in the Late Carboniferous British Middle Coal Measures. It
seen in spiders. The spigots were borne at the posterior margin of has tentatively been interpreted as being most closely related to
one or more ventral plates. Given the disarticulated nature of the Amblypygi, Thelyphonida and Schizomida as part of a Schizotarsata
Devonian uraraneids we cannot confirm that the spigot-bearing clade sensu Shultz (2007a) defined by subdivided leg tarsi. The
plates belonged to the same somites (X and XI) as the spider morphology of these fossils was most recently summarised by
spinnerets, although we consider this plausible (Fig. 5). In urar- Dunlop (1999) and Garwood and Dunlop (2014a). Haptopoda ap-
aneids a flagelliform postanal telson was retained, similar to that of pears to have had 18 somites (Fig. 5), with a clear 6 þ 12 division
palpigrades and whip scorpions. into a prosoma and opisthosoma, but without a narrow pedicel as
Note that Garwood et al. (2016) recently described a in spiders. Somites IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal
Carboniferous fossil which resolved, phylogenetically, between shield (or carapace). This bears both median eyes and apparent
Uraraneida and Araneae. Idmonarachne brasieri Garwood et al., lateral eye tubercles. Limb I was a clasp-knife chelicera; limb II was
2016 has an essentially spider-like body plan. The flagelliform a small, pediform pedipalp, limb III (the first walking leg) was
telson is no longer present, but like the uraraneids this interesting somewhat elongate and may have been more tactile in life, while
fossil also lacks spinnerets on the underside of the abdomen. limbs IVeVI appear to have acted as the primary walking legs. A
labium is equivocal, but there are two sternal elements between
3.10.12. Araneae the leg coxae. The opisthosoma had twelve segments (somites
The segmentation pattern in spiders (Araneae) is best observed VIIeXVIII), whereby the first segment is rather short. The referral of
in the suborder Mesothelae, which retains a segmented opistho- this group to the wider Tetrapulmonata clade implies that these
soma. Morphological details can be found in, e.g., Haupt (2003). In animals also had two pairs of lungs e and their appendage derived
more derived spiders the opisthosoma is largely soft, but may opercula e but this cannot be demonstrated unequivocally in the
retain hints of the original segmentation (see especially Crome, material available. The last two segments of the opisthosoma are
1955). Araneae have 18 somites with a clear 6 þ 12 division into ring-like and plate-like respectively. There was no telson.
a prosoma and opisthosoma (Fig. 5) accentuated by a narrow ‘waist’
or pedicel. Somites IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal 3.10.14. Amblypygi
shield (or carapace). Spiders typically have six or eight eyes. Whip spiders (Amblypygi) have been interpreted either as the
Patterning mechanisms of both prosomal and opisthosomal spider sister group of spiders (the Labellata hypothesis) or of whip scor-
appendages were reviewed by Pechmann et al. (2010). Limb I is a pions and schizomids (the Pedipalpi hypothesis). Detailed
clasp-knife chelicera, limb II forms the pediform pedipalps with the morphological accounts of whip scorpions can be found in Bo €rner
unique spider apomorphy of a palpal organ for sperm transfer in (1904) and more recently Shultz (1999), supplemented by
males, limbs IIIeVI act as walking legs. There is a labium and a Weygoldt (2000). Amblypygi (Fig. 5) have 18 somites with a clear
single sternum between the leg coxae. The opisthosoma has 12 6 þ 12 division into a prosoma and opisthosoma, accentuated by an
somites. The first is especially constricted as part of the pedicel. especially narrow pedicel similar to the condition in spiders. So-
Somites VIII and IX bear e at least in the groundplan e the book mites IeVI are covered by a unitary prosomal dorsal shield (or
lungs. In mesotheles these lung pairs are covered by unitary plates, carapace). This bears both median eyes and lateral eyes consisting
which are probably modified appendages. In more derived spiders of two groups of three lenses. Limb I is a clasp-knife chelicera; limb
these plates are reduced to sclerotized covers over the individual II forms the raptorial pedipalps, limb III is an antenniform leg with a
lungs. Most araneomorph spiders have reduced the second lung largely tactile function and limbs IVeVI act as walking legs. There is
pair on somite IX and replaced their lungs with tracheae. Given that an elongate labium (or tritosternum) plus two small sternal ele-
the tracheae are derived from appendage apodemes (Selden et al., ments between the leg coxae. The opisthosoma has twelve seg-
2008; Pechmann et al., 2010) these structures can also be inter- ments (somites VIIeXVIII). The first is constricted as part of the
preted as highly derived expressions of the appendages of somite pedicel. Somites VIII and IX bear the book lungs and their associ-
IX. ated appendage-derived opercula (Shultz, 1999). Somite VIII also
Segments X and XI bear spinnerets; another key autapomorphy expresses internal gonopods and somite IX in many species bears
of spiders. Embryologically two pairs on each of these somites ventral sacs, both of which Weygoldt (2000) interpreted as the
develop, but the full complement of eight is only retained in highly modified endopod ramus of the original biramous limb se-
mesotheles (and two of these lack silk-producing spigots), with ries. The last three opisthosomal segments form a small post-
other spider groups showing alternative patterns of reduction and/ abdomen, in which somite XVIII is barely visible, but the segments
or modification. In non-mesothele spiders the spinnerets have also here are still divided into tergites and sternites. There is no telson.
migrated to a more posterior position, although this does not affect
the somites they belong to. Selden et al. (2008) noted that the 3.10.15. Thelyphonida
epiandrous glands on the genital somite (VIII) may be serial ho- Detailed morphological accounts of whip scorpions (Thelypho-
mologues of the silk glands on the next two segments associated nida) can be found in Bo €rner (1904) and more recently Shultz
with the spinnerets. As discussed by Selden et al. (2008), spinnerets (1993). Thelyphonida have 18 somites with a clear 6 þ 12 divi-
are widely accepted as modified opisthosomal appendages (see sion into a prosoma and opisthosoma (Fig. 5), accentuated by a
also Damen et al., 2002; Pechmann et al., 2010). A walking tarantula narrowing similar to the condition in spiders and whip spiders,
spider often moves its spinnerets in time with the pacing of its legs albeit not to the same extent. Somites IeVI are covered by a unitary
(JAD, pers. obs.). The absence of spinnerets in close relatives of prosomal dorsal shield. This bears both median eyes and lateral
Araneae may imply that spiders (re)evolved these structures by eyes consisting of two groups of three major and two minor lenses.
reactivating suppressed genes for appendage development on so- As in whip spiders, limb I is a clasp-knife chelicera; limb II forms the
mites XII and XIII. The ventral opisthosoma behind the spinnerets raptorial pedipalps, limb III is an antenniform leg with a largely
tactile function and limbs IVeVI act as walking legs. There is no this scenario is the fact that the appendage of the first somite in
labium, but the sternum is composed of a larger V-shaped sclerite megacheirans is a modified, uniramous limb, for which a putative
between the coxae of appendages IV and a small element between transition series can be recognised (Haug et al., 2012b), whereby
the coxae of appendage V. The opisthosoma has twelve segments this ‘great appendage’ becomes increasingly consolidated into a
(somites VIIeXVIII). The first is constricted as part of the pedicel. raptorial first head limb similar to the chelate chelicerae of sea
Somites VIII and XI bear the book lungs, with their associated spiders, horseshoe crabs, eurypterids and arachnids. In this hy-
appendage-derived operculae (Shultz, 1993). Segment VIII also pothesis a prosoma was not part of the chelicerate groundplan. It
expresses internal gonopods. The last three opisthosomal segments presumably evolved later, perhaps at the Euchelicerata grade, by
are not divided into tergites and sternites and form a small post- integrating the next two (or three) somites into the head shield or
abdomen. A flagelliform postanal telson is retained. cephalonda model favoured by authors such as Størmer (1944:
Fig. 25) or Winter (1980: Fig. 27). A similar, 4 þ 2, tagmosis was
3.10.16. Schizomida envisaged by Kraus (1976: Fig. 7) in his reconstruction of the hy-
Schizomids (Schizomida) are evidently closely-related to whip pothetical chelicerate archetype.
scorpions and for many years were considered part of the same Of course, a raptorial appendage can evolve quite easily (see e.g.
order. A detailed morphological account can be found in Bo €rner Lamsdell et al., 2013) by developing an apophysis from a preceding
(1904). Schizomids have 18 somites (Fig. 5) with a clear 6 þ 12 limb element to create a simple claw. Thus we must be cautious
division into a prosoma and opisthosoma, accentuated by a partial about assuming that megacheiran raptorial limbs were automati-
narrowing as per whip scorpions. The prosoma expresses a pseu- cally progenitors of the chelicerae. Essentially, the question we face
dotagma in the form of a propeltidium covering somites IeIV, plus is whether having an anterior tagma composed of somites IeVI or
separate sclerites (the meso- and metapeltidium) for somites V and having a raptorial appendage on somite I is a better guide to the
VI respectively. Many schizomids are blind or have only lateral eye origins and groundplan of Chelicerata. This question is not trivial as
spots, but in a few genera there are lateral eyes with lenses on the it impacts on the polarity of characters used in arachnid phylogeny.
propeltidium (Sissom, 1980). As in whip spiders and whip scor- For example, is a ‘divided carapace’ and/or a prodorsal shield an
pions, limb I is a clasp-knife chelicera; limb II forms the raptorial apomorphy in which the original prosomal dorsal shield has
pedipalps, limb III is an antenniform leg with a largely tactile become split up, or is it the plesiomorphic retention of (or reversal
function and limbs IVeVI act as walking legs. There is no labium, back to) an ancestral tagmosis pattern, as envisaged by authors
but the sternum is composed of a larger V-shaped sclerite between such as Kraus (1976).
the coxae of appendages IV and a minute element between the
coxae of appendage V. The opisthosoma has twelve segments (so- 4.2. Does somite VII belong to the prosoma?
mites VIIeXVIII). The first is constricted as part of the pedicel. So-
mite VIII bears a pair of book lungs and is presumably associated Although the prosoma is traditionally assumed to correspond to
with an appendage-derived operculum as per Thelyphonida, but the first six somites, we also need to consider exactly where we
the lungs on somite IX have been lost. We presume that the sclerite draw the boundary and whether it is the same across all taxa.
here is still appendage-derived. Gonopods have not been reported Adopting Lamsdell's (2013) argument that tagmata should be
on the genital somite in the literature. The last three opisthosomal defined primarily on the form and function of the limb series, we
segments are not divided into tergites and sternites and again form have to recognise that at least in sea spiders (Fig. 1) and potentially
a small postabdomen (somites XVIeXVIII). A short, flagelliform in Weinbergina opitzi (Fig. 2) it is somites IeVII which bear the
postanal telson is retained and in male schizomids it is uniquely chelicerae and walking legs, and not just somites IeVI. Thus some
modified at the tip into a bulbous or plate-like structure, which the authors have suggested (e.g. Stürmer and Bergstrom, 1981) that
female holds onto during mating. somite VII should also be counted as part of the prosoma in the
chelicerate groundplan. Recall that the chilaria on somite VII of
4. Discussion modern horseshoe crabs and the metastoma of chasmataspidids
and eurypterids may not be legs per se, but they do appear to be
4.1. The chelicerate groundplan functionally integrated into the prosoma and play an active role in
food acquisition. In euchelicerates somites VIIIeXIII are charac-
The basic evolutionary trend in Chelicerata was consolidation of terised by flap-like appendages, or modifications thereof, often
a functional division of the body into anterior somites specialised associated with respiration. The tagmosis question is complicated
for feeding and locomotion and posterior somites specialised for by Offacolus kingi and Dibasterim durgae. Both these fossils have
respiration, digestion and reproduction. This is, in essence, the flap-like appendages on somite VII (Fig. 2). That said, Lamsdell
prosoma/opisthosoma tagmosis. Resolving how this body plan was (2013) noted that a flap suggests an exopod ramus. A walking leg
achieved depends to some extent on which fossils we accept as here, as in Weinbergina opitzi, may be indicative of the original
basal Chelicerata, or their immediate outgroup. If Legg (2014) is endopod ramus; thus we have to consider the fate of both the
correct and Sanctacaris uncata is a basal chelicerate (3.1.1), then a endopod and the exopod on somite VII. Note also that the head
body divided into a prosoma of six somites covered by a unitary shield in Offacolus kingi has also been interpreted as covering seven
dorsal shield and an opisthosoma of at least eleven somites (Fig. 1) somites (IeVII), not six, again raising the question of how many
may have predated the acquisition of chelate chelicerae. Recall, segments are ‘prosomal’ in the (eu)chelicerate groundplan.
though, that in Legg's interpretation limb I is equivocal rather than
being demonstrably non-chelate. However, if Pycnogonida are 4.3. Transition to uniramous prosomal limbs
ingroup chelicerates, then in this scenario their tagmosis pattern of
a cephalosoma with four somites plus a trunk is implicitly derived. In both Sanctacaris uncata and the megacheirans the post-
In the alternative hypothesis megacheirans are stem- cheliceral limbs from somite II backwards all appear to have been
chelicerates (Chen et al., 2004). These Palaeozoic arthropods have biramous (Fig. 1), generally with a leg-like endopod and a more
usually been interpreted (but see Liu et al., 2016) as having had a flap-like exopod, which may have functioned as a gill. Sea spiders
head shield covering the first four somites e similar to the pyc- may be basal chelicerates, but they all have uniramous limbs. Given
nogonid cephalosoma e plus the longer trunk (Fig. 1). In favour of their many reductive characters, including a foreshortening of the
trunk, sea spiders do not reveal the transition towards the euche- 4.5. Modifications of the prosomal limbs
licerate condition of plate-like posterior limbs. Intermediate states
are better reflected in fossils like Offacolus kingi and Dibasterium Lamsdell et al. (2015a: Fig. 26) summarised modifications of the
durgae (Fig. 2) which resemble horseshoe crabs, but retained the postcheliceral prosomal appendages across various euchelicerates
exopod on the postcheliceral prosomal appendages (see 3.4.1e2). to demonstrate how different limbs in different taxa have been be
Note that both these fossils are Silurian in age, contemporary with co-opted for: (1) grasping, restraining or otherwise manipulating
the oldest arachnids, and thus probably retain an older body plan prey, (2) facilitating reproduction or indirect sperm transfer, (3)
rather than being directly ancestral to any modern chelicerate sensing the surrounding environment, (4) walking, or (5) even
group. Today, an obvious prosomal exopod is only retained in digging or swimming. Depending on which phylogeny one adopts,
horseshoe crabs (Fig. 2) as the flabellum on the appendage of so- several of these developments appear to be excellent examples of
mite VI. Loss of the (adult) exopods from the appendages of somites homoplasy. For example the appendage of somite II (the pedipalp)
IIeV thus becomes a defining apomorphy of Prosomapoda sensu has often been marshalled for prey capture, becoming subchelate in
Lamsdell (2013) (Table 1). In Chasmataspis laurencii at least one whip spiders, whip scorpions and schizomids (Fig. 5), and fully
prosomal limb appears to have still been biramous (see 3.8.1), chelate in scorpions and pseudoscorpions (Fig. 3). A further
however the limb in question is disarticulated and cannot be placed modification is the small claw at the tip of the pedipalp in ricinu-
with certainty in the limb series. Detailed studies of prosomal leids and some (if not all) of the extinct trigonotarbids, and the
morphology in eurypterids (Holm, 1898; Selden, 1981) found no adhesive pedipalp tip in camel spiders (Figs. 3 and 5). Alternatively,
evidence for a flabellum/biramy on the appendage of somite VI. the appendages of different somites may, independently, have
Thus loss of the exopod from limb VI could be a further synapo- come to play a similar functional role. Whip spiders, whip scor-
morphy of Sclerophorata (¼ Eurypterida þ Arachnida) (Table 1). pions, schizomids (Fig. 5) and perhaps also camel spiders (Fig. 3)
However, we should mention that juvenile instars of some use the appendage of somite III (the first walking leg) to a greater or
arachnids also express vestigial prosomal exopods. The prelarva lesser extent as a tactile appendage probing ahead in search of food
and larva of many acariform mites bear Clapare de organs, a pair of or danger. Many harvestmen e and to some extent ricinuleids e use
small outgrowths resembling stubby legs which are thought to play the appendage of somite IV (the second walking leg) in a similar
a role in osmoregulation. Thomas and Telford (1999: Fig. 5) fashion (Fig. 3). Spiders have modified the appendage of somite II
demonstrated that this structure is unequivocally derived from the (the pedipalp) into a male sperm transfer device (Fig. 5); ricinuleids
base of the limb on somite IV (the second walking leg). These au- use the appendage of somite V (the third walking leg) in a very
thors further suggested that the Clapare de organs are homologous similar way (Fig. 3).
with the so-called lateral organs seen in the same position at the
base of the second leg in the larvae of camel spiders, whip spiders 4.6. The prosomaeopisthosoma junction
and whip scorpions (Yoshikura, 1975; Zissler and Weygoldt, 1975).
In the same paper, Thomas and Telford (1999: Fig. 2) documented As noted by Lamsdell (2013), tagmata and their appendages may
surprisingly large lobes at the base of the pedipalp in embryos of be modified close to their boundaries and this is particularly
acariform mites. These can be almost as large as the pedipalp itself obvious at the prosomaeopisthosoma transition. The problem of
at some stages of development and appear to eventually contribute whether segment VII is prosomal or opisthosomal has been alluded
towards constructing the floor of the gnathobase. Thomas & Telford to above. In modern horseshoe crabs the anteriormost opisthoso-
speculated whether these lobes e sometimes referred to as coxal mal somites have been incorporated into the prosomal dorsal
processes or endites e could be another example of a remnant of an shield (Fig. 2). In several basal euchelicerates the tergite of somite
originally biramous limb. VII is reduced to a microtergite. In eurypterids and scorpions somite
VII is also foreshortened (Figs. 2e3) and the first opisthosomal
4.4. Anterior pseudotagmata tergite is no longer expressed. In ricinuleids and trigonotarbids the
first tergite tucks under the posterior margin of the prosomal dorsal
Several arachnids express pseudotagmata sensu Lamsdell (2013) shield as part of the so-called locking ridge (Figs. 3 and 5). In several
towards the front of the body. The most obvious example is the arachnids somite VII is associated with a narrowing of the body,
gnathosoma of mites (Fig. 4): a movable, functional unit encom- reaching its tightest constriction as the pedicel (or petiolus) of
passing the chelicerae (limb I) and pedipalps (limb II), plus the mouth spiders and whip spiders, which divides the prosoma anatomically
lips. It remains the strongest character in support of a monophyletic from the opisthosoma (Fig. 5). It is interesting to speculate why this
Acari, but must have evolved twice if mites are not a natural group; trend occurred. Perhaps it confers increased motility on the opis-
see Dunlop and Alberti (2008) for further discussion and Alberti et al. thosoma; spiders can move the opisthosoma quite a lot during web
(2011) for a detailed account of its morphology and evolutionary building and whip scorpions and schizomids can raise the opis-
significance in an oribatid. Acariform mites also often express a thosoma to appear more scorpion-like in a behaviour called
proterosoma (somites IeIV) articulating against the remaining so- ‘aggressive posturing’. Furthermore the tetrapulmonate arachnids
mites (the hysterosoma) via the sejugal and disjugal furrows running like spiders have certain limb joints which are hydraulic (sum-
between the second and third pair of legs (Fig. 4). Essentially the marised by Shultz, 1989); expanded by increasing blood pressure
same division is reflected in the propeltidium of palpigrades, camel rather than muscular activity. A possible advantage of a pedicel in
spiders (Fig. 3) and schizomids (Fig. 5). As noted above, this same unit arachnids with hydraulic limb joints is that it physically isolates the
corresponding to somites IeIV parallels the condition seen in the opisthosoma from high blood pressures generated in the prosoma
tagmosis of the megacheiran fossils and in the cephalosoma of the during locomotion. Paul and Bihlmayer (1995) studied the circu-
sea spiders (Fig. 1). This cephalosoma (somites IeIV) in sea spiders latory physiology of a tarantula spider. High blood pressures in the
could also be regarded as a pseudotagma, as the limb series continues prosoma were not transmitted to the opisthosoma, apparently
behind it with three more walking legs on the next three somites thanks to a (muscular?) occlusion mechanism at the anterior end of
(VeVII). By the same criteria, one could classify the head region/ the narrow pedicel.
cephalon of megacheirans (somites IeIV) as a pseudotagma as the Ventrally, the appendages of somite VII may be functionally
biramous limb series continues onto and along the trunk without any part of the prosoma, as with the chilaria of horseshoe crabs, the
major change in the structure and function of the limbs. metastoma of chasmataspidids, eurypterids and (perhaps?) the
scorpion sternum (Figs. 2e3). In other arachnids appendages on XeXIII, whereas in pantetrapulmonate arachnids they are in a non-
somite VII have been lost completely, and in pseudoscorpions and homologous position on the two preceding somites (VIIIeIX)
trigonotarbids there is no evidence for a sternite here either instead. In modern Xiphosura there is also no gill on the genital
(Figs. 3 and 5). Somites VII and VIII may be displaced forwards, as operculum (somite VIII). Thus arachnids and horseshoe crabs must
in harvestmen, several groups of mites and in ricinuleids, effec- share a distant common ancestor which still had a gill/lung on
tively bringing the genital opening functionally into the prosomal somite VIII. It is interesting to note that the Silurian fossil Dibaste-
region. rium durgae appears to reflect (or retain) this condition (Briggs
et al., 2012), which is consistent with a basal position for this fos-
4.7. The opisthosoma sil within Euchelicerata.
Other structures in arachnids e ventral sacs, genital verrucae,
The number of opisthosomal somites in euchelicerates varies genital acetabula, gonopods e may also represent highly modified
from a maximum of 13 down to 9 or even 5, depending on how or vestigial opisthosomal appendages. It is not always clear
mites and ticks are interpreted. Whether the total number of so- whether these structures ultimately derive from the endopod, the
mites in individual orders is phylogenetically significant is a moot exopod, or even the original basipod. Scorpion pectines represent
point, but at least within the Pantetrapulmonata (spiders and an interesting case. Their structure, with small platelets borne on
their relatives, Fig. 5) there seems to be a stable pattern of 12. a shaft, is somewhat reminiscent of the original gill branch in the
Mites remain highly problematic in this context (Fig. 4) and it is biramous limb seen in putative chelicerate outroups (Fig. 1); see
difficult to do justice to all the published hypotheses within the also remarks in Størmer (1944: Fig. 23). Pectine development was
present review. In the acariform mites, the main questions seem studied by Farley (2011), who noted that they appear early in
to resolve around the fate of the dorsal elements of somites V and development e before typically terrestrial features like the book
VI: are they integrated into a prosoma, lost or not expressed, or do lungs e thus he speculated that the pectines may have played a
they represent the first segment(s) of the hysterosoma? In the (paddle-like?) role in the original aquatic environment. However,
latter case, is the first visible segment of the hysterosoma equiv- at least some Silurian scorpions appear to have lacked pectines
alent to one somite (C) or to two (C1 and 2)? Thus, is there a (Dunlop et al., 2008). Either some early scorpions lost their
groundplan of 13 or 14 somites in acariform mites, or several more pectines, or perhaps they originated within Scopiones by reac-
as in van der Hammen's (1989) scheme? The parasitiform mites tivating suppressed genes for appendage development on somite
have been most recently proposed as having 17 somites (Fig. 4), IX. This is also the mechanism proposed for the origin of spider
but as noted above there are challenges in reconciling this hy- spinnerets. Having silk glands opening on movable appendages is
pothesis with the observed morphology of mesostigmatid mites clearly advantageous for placing individual threads more pre-
and ticks. cisely. Yet none of the spider's closest relatives (Fig. 5) preserve
prominent appendages (with multiple podomeres) on somites X
4.8. Posterior pseudotagmata and XI; the closest match being the trigonotrabids who have
ventral sacs shaped like raised pustules on somite X.
In the megacheiran Yohoia tenuis (Fig. 1) the last three trunk
segments are slightly offset and ring-like. A number of chelicerates
also show a trend towards subdividing the opisthosoma, whereby a 4.10. The telson
pre- and postabdomen could also be regarded as pseudotagmata;
here towards the back of the body. Several synziphosurines, Finally, a telson evidently belongs to the chelicerate groundplan,
including the two figured here (Fig. 2), again have the last three being present in all potential outgroups (Fig. 1). It was retained in
opisthosomal segments as ring-like elements forming a post- some fossil sea spiders and in all basal euchelicerates found so far,
abdomen. Why they did this is unclear. Perhaps this conferred some as well as in horseshoe crabs, chasmataspidids and eurypterids
motility for the telson if they needed to right themselves? Chas- (Fig. 2). At least modern horseshoe crabs use the telson to help right
mataspidids have their unusual 4 þ 9 tagmosis and several themselves if they get turned over (Vostaka, 1970), and some eu-
scorpion-like eurypterids have the last five segments offset against rypterids may have used theirs as a rudder (Plotnick and Baumiller,
the rest of the body (Fig. 2). Among arachnids, the scorpion tail 1988). By contrast most arachnids have reduced or lost the telson
(Fig. 3) is again formed from the last five segments (somites (Figs. 3e5). Perhaps dragging a long, rigid telson behind them
XVeXIX) and this has an obvious functional advantage in confer- became more of a hindrance than a help in a terrestrial environ-
ring manoeuvrability for the sting. In ricinuleids and the pante- ment? The telson has been retained in a modified form as the
trapulmonate arachnids there seems to be a trend towards scorpion sting, probably as the anal operculum in harvestmen (and
consolidating their last two or three somites (XVIeXVIII) into a the extinct phalangiotarbids too?), or as a sensory whip-like fla-
series of short, ring-like segments (a postabdomen or pygidium, gellum in palpigrades, the extinct uraraneids, whip scorpions and
Fig. 5). This is also reflected in the ‘Arachnida micrura’ concept schizomids. As noted above, male schizomids uniquely have a
developed by Hansen and Sørensen (1904); however it is important modified flagellum (Fig. 5) which the female holds onto during
to stress that these are not the same three somites which form the mating (Sturm, 1958).
postabdomen in synziphosurines (cf. Fig. 2).
4.9. Opisthosomal appendages Acknowledgements
Opisthosomal appendages are clearly retained within cheli- We thank Sandro Minelli for inviting this contribution and
cerates as the gill opercula in horseshoe crabs, chasmataspidids and adding helpful comments as guest editor. We thank Richard
eurypterids (Fig. 2). As noted above, their flattened plate-like Thomas for valuable discussions of segmentation in mites and e
structure defines Euchelicerata. In pulmonate arachnids (Figs. 3 together with an anonymous reviewer e for numerous improve-
and 5) these opercula are probably retained as the ventral scler- ments on a previous version of the typescript. Finally, we thank
ites covering the book lungs (Shultz, 1993, 1999). It is important Dieter Waloßek for sharing several key observations on arthropod
here to reiterate that scorpions have their book lungs on somites segmentation.
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Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Arthropod Structure & Development

Segmentation and tagmosis in Chelicerata

Chelicerata Appendages of somite I become chelate

arachnid orders comparative gene data on segmentation are 3. Results

The origins of Chelicerata remain uncertain. Older schemes

3.3.3. Pantopoda 3.4.2. Dibasteriumy

3.9.1. Eurypteriday 3.10. Arachnida

4.9. Opisthosomal appendages Acknowledgements

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