Panarthropoda

A velvet worms

The Panarthropoda are a widely accepted taxon, which was erected in 1995 by Claus Nielsen and the tribes of arthropods ( Arthropoda ), velvet worms ( Onychophora ) and tardigrades ( Tardigrada ) includes. According to current knowledge, they are classified in the About tribe of molting animals ( Ecdysozoa ). Compared to other molting animals, they are characterized by the following common features:

• Possession of legs with claw foot occupied
• Possession of a ventral nerve cord
• Segmentation of the body

Phylogenetic relationships within the Panarthropoda are currently disputed. It used to be mostly held the velvet worms and water bears for closely related and awarded for this group name as Proarthropoda ( = before the arthropods arising, Lankester 1904) or Pararthropoda ( = next to the arthropods arising, Vandel 1949). For this merge (hence sometimes the group name Oncopoda, Weber 1954) said, among other things, the similar construction of the legs, which are designed as Oncopodien. Nowadays, however, the tardigrades are also often grouped with arthropods, ( it has been suggested here, the group name Tactopoda, but also Tritocerebra, the latter refers to similarities in the structure of the brain ) as there are tardigrades with subdivided legs. Molecular systematic studies on this issue in so far can not contribute to the decision, as the water bear very different group here, depending on the method of examination and sometimes even fall out completely from the Panarthropoda (eg Dunn et al., 2008 ).

Untertaxa

• Water bears ( tardigrades )
• Velvet worms ( Onychophora )
• Lobopoden ( Lobopodia ) †
• Arthropods ( Arthropoda )