Phalangiotarbida

Phalangiotarbida
Temporal range: Early Devonian–Early Permian
Goniotarbus angulatus fossil, dorsal and ventral views
Reconstruction of Goniotarbus angulatus and Mesotarbus peteri
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: †Phalangiotarbida
Haase, 1890
Families

Currently 4 families, see text for details.

Synonyms

Architarbi
Phalangiotarbi

Phalangiotarbida is an extinct arachnid order first recorded from the Early Devonian of Germany and most widespread in the Upper Carboniferous coal measures of Europe and North America.[1] The last species are known from the early Permian Rotliegend of Germany.

The affinities of phalangiotarbids are obscure, with most authors favouring affinities with Opiliones (harvestmen) and/or Acari (mites and ticks). Phalangiotarbida has been recently (2004) proposed to be sister group to (Palpigradi+Tetrapulmonata): the taxon Megoperculata sensu Shultz (1990).[2]

Nemastomoides depressus, described as a harvestman in the family Nemastomoididae, is actually a poorly preserved phalangiotarbid.[3]

  1. ^ Garwood, Russell J.; Dunlop, Jason (2014). "Three-dimensional reconstruction and the phylogeny of extinct chelicerate orders". PeerJ. 2: e641. doi:10.7717/peerj.641. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 4232842. PMID 25405073.
  2. ^ Pollitt et al. 2004
  3. ^ Dunlop in Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 255