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The Morphology and Some Data on the Anatomy of Pycnogonids of the Family Colossendeidae (Arthropoda: Chelicerata)

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Abstract

Pycnogonids are a small group of archaic primarily marine chelicerates. They exhibit an unusual bauplan and some features that distinguish them from the rest of the chelicerates. There are approximately ten modern families of pycnogonids and more than 1000 species. However, the knowledge of this group consists of information about the organization of several dozen species, which does not comprise the available diversity. Species of the family Colossendeidae are poorly studied. Using light microscopy, we examined the morphology of Colossendeis drakei Calman, 1915, C. fragilis Pushkin, 1993, C. scotti Calman, 1915, and Decolopoda australis Eights, 1835 and obtained some information about their anatomy. The external structure of each species is described, data on the presence and position of the main organ systems are given. The study of the bauplan of colossendeids revealed the consolidation of the body and the absence of functional segmental boundaries. Our results significantly expand the understanding of the body plan in pycnogonids. Thus, there is a tendency for the midgut surface area to increase through elongation of the midgut diverticula and/or the formation of infoldings. In females, the vitellarium is hypertrophied and extends almost the entire length of the walking leg. The presence of the gonad diverticula in male pycnogonids is described for the first time.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to S.G. Denisenko, the head of the Marine Research Laboratory, for the opportunity to work with the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and to E.L. Markhaseva for consultations while working with the material of collections.

Funding

This study was performed using the equipment of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology of St. Petersburg State University, as well as equipment of the Research Resource Center “Taxon” (http://www.ckp-rf.ru/ckp/3038/), and is part of the State Assignment Project (no. AAAA-A19-119022690122-5) of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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  1. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia

    N. V. Alexeeva

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Correspondence to N. V. Alexeeva.

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Alexeeva, N.V. The Morphology and Some Data on the Anatomy of Pycnogonids of the Family Colossendeidae (Arthropoda: Chelicerata). Russ J Mar Biol 47, 440–450 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106307402106002X

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S106307402106002X

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