Pycnogonid higher classification and a revision of the genus Austropallene (family Callipallenidae).
Item
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Title
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Pycnogonid higher classification and a revision of the genus Austropallene (family Callipallenidae).
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Identifier
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AAI9224792
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identifier
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9224792
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Creator
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Bain, Bonnie Allison.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Norman Platnick
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Biology, Zoology
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Abstract
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This thesis is presented in two parts. In part I, a brief introduction to and a history of previous work on the pycnogonids is given. The discussion on morphology which follows concentrates on three topics which are seldom given a thorough discussion: ovigerous legs, extra pairs of walking legs, and larval development. Included in each discussion is the relevance of these topics to phylogenetic analysis of the Class Pycnogonida. The cladistic analysis section begins with a discussion of methods, choice of outgroup, and a presentation and discussion of characters used. The analysis used 86 pycnogonid genera and 57 characters. Data on the 86 genera were obtained from published type descriptions. A complete list of the genera and all references used to obtain type descriptions will be found in Appendix I. Results of the analysis are presented next and a comparison is made between the cladogram and previous ideas of relationship within the pycnogonids. Part II is a revision of the genus Austropallene. A brief history of previous work on this genus is given, followed by methods, choice of outgroup (the genus Nymphon), and character discussions for the cladistic analysis. Fourteen characters and 8 taxa were used and 1 tree was produced both by Hennig86 and PAUP (version 3.0q). On the basis of this tree and the accompanying character support for it, Austropallene is split into two genera: Tarapallene and Austropallene. This discussion is followed by diagnoses and descriptions of the genera and diagnoses and descriptions of 8 species of Austropallene. In addition, two previous species, A. australis and A. turqueti, which had been considered synonyms of A. cornigera, are restored to species status on the basis of their ovigerous leg spines. Ovigerous leg spines are used here for the first time as the basis for separating species within Austropallene. Use of ovigerous leg spines in this manner should prove to be useful in other pycnogonid genera also. All ovigerous leg spines were examined under the SEM. Species specific differences were not readily apparent under the lower magnification levels of the light microscope.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
