Of mites and millipedes: recent progress in resolving the base of the arthropod tree.
Deep-level arthropod phylogeny has been in a state of upheaval ever since the emergence of molecular tree reconstruction approaches. While a consensus has settled in that hexapods are more closely related to crustaceans than to myriapods, the phylogenetic position of the latter has remained a matter of debate. Mitochondrial, nuclear, and genome-scale studies have proposed rejecting the long-standing superclade Mandibulata, which unites myriapods with insects and crustaceans, in favor of a clade that unites myriapods with chelicerates and has become known as Paradoxapoda or Myriochelata. Here we discuss the progress, problems, and prospects of arriving at the final arthropod tree.
Caravas
Jason
J
Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA.
Friedrich
Markus
M
D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D008925:Mites / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny