Arachnomorpha is a proposed subdivision or

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

Arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

a, comprising the group formed by the

trilobites Trilobites (; meaning "three-lobed entities") are extinct marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. One of the earliest groups of arthropods to appear in the fossil record, trilobites were among the most successful of all early animals, ...

and their close relatives (

Artiopoda Artiopoda is a clade of extinct arthropods that includes trilobites and their close relatives. It was erected by Hou and Bergström in 1997 to encompass a wide diversity of arthropods that would traditionally have been assigned to the Trilobitomor ...

), Megacheira (which may be

paraphyletic Paraphyly is a taxonomic term describing a grouping that consists of the grouping's last common ancestor and some but not all of its descendant lineages. The grouping is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

) and

chelicerates The subphylum Chelicerata (from Neo-Latin, , ) constitutes one of the major subdivisions of the phylum Arthropoda. Chelicerates include the sea spiders, horseshoe crabs, and arachnids (including harvestmen, scorpions, spiders, solifuges, tic ...

. Under this proposed classification scheme, Arachnomorpha is considered the sister group to

Mandibulata The clade Mandibulata constitutes one of the major subdivisions of the phylum Arthropoda, alongside Chelicerata. Mandibulates include the crustaceans, myriapods (centipedes and millipedes, among others), and all true insects. The name "Mandibul ...

(including

insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...

crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...

and

myriapods Myriapods () are the members of subphylum Myriapoda, containing arthropods such as millipedes and centipedes. The group contains about 13,000 species, all of them terrestrial. Although molecular evidence and similar fossils suggests a diversifi ...

). The arachnomorph concept has been challenged by suggestions that the artiopods are more closely related to mandibulates, forming the clade Antennulata instead. There is no consensus as to assigning Arachnomorpha a formal Linnean rank.

Classification

Arachnomorpha Lameere, 1890 Arachnata Paulus, 1979, = Palaeopoda Packard, 1903*†'' Nettapezoura'' *†'' Dicranocaris'' *† Trilobita Walch, 1771 *† Megacheira Hou & Bergstrom, 1997 *† Strabopida Hou & Bergström, 1997 *† Aglaspida Walcott, 1911 *† Cheloniellida Broili, 1932 *

Chelicerata The subphylum Chelicerata (from Neo-Latin, , ) constitutes one of the major subdivisions of the phylum Arthropoda. Chelicerates include the sea spiders, horseshoe crabs, and arachnids (including harvestmen, scorpions, spiders, solifuges, tic ...

Heymons 1901 **Family † Sanctacarididae Legg & Pates, 2017 **Class

Pycnogonida Sea spiders are marine arthropods of the class Pycnogonida, hence they are also called pycnogonids (; named after ''Pycnogonum'', the type genus; with the suffix '). The class includes the only now-living order Pantopoda ( ‘all feet’), alongs ...

Latreille, 1810 **Clade Euchelicerata Weygoldt & Paulus, 1979 ***Family † Offacolidae Sutton ''et al''., 2002 ***Clade

Prosomapoda Prosomapoda is a clade of Chelicerata, euchelicerates including the groups Xiphosura (horseshoe crabs) and Planaterga (a group comprising Bunodidae, bunodids, Pseudoniscidae, pseudoniscids, Chasmataspidida, chasmataspidids, Eurypterida, eurypteri ...

Lamsdell, 2013

Phylogeny

Using fossil data, Bergström & Hou (2003) gave an outline of arthropod relationships emphasizing trilobitomorphs (a group that includes trilobites and trilobite-like animals).

References

Arthropod taxonomy Taxa named by Auguste Lameere {{arthropod-stub