Chemosystematics in the Opiliones (Arachnida): a comment on the evolutionary history of alkylphenols and benzoquinones in the scent gland secretions of Laniatores

Large prosomal scent glands constitute a major synapomorphic character of the arachnid order Opiliones. These glands produce a variety of chemicals very specific to opilionid taxa of different taxonomic levels, and thus represent a model system to investigate the evolutionary traits in exocrine secr...

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Published inCladistics Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 202 - 209
Main Authors Raspotnig, Günther, Bodner, Michaela, Schäffer, Sylvia, Koblmüller, Stephan, Schönhofer, Axel, Karaman, Ivo
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2015
Subjects
Arachnida
Forum
Laniatores
Opiliones
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Summary:Large prosomal scent glands constitute a major synapomorphic character of the arachnid order Opiliones. These glands produce a variety of chemicals very specific to opilionid taxa of different taxonomic levels, and thus represent a model system to investigate the evolutionary traits in exocrine secretion chemistry across a phylogenetically old group of animals. The chemically best‐studied opilionid group is certainly Laniatores, and currently available chemical data allow first hypotheses linking the phylogeny of this group to the evolution of major chemical classes of secretion chemistry. Such hypotheses are essential to decide upon a best‐fitting explanation of the distribution of scent‐gland secretion compounds across extant laniatorean taxa, and hence represent a key toward a well‐founded opilionid chemosystematics.
Bibliography:Austrian Science Fund (FWF) - No. P21819-B16
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ArticleID:CLA12079
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content type line 23
ISSN:0748-3007
1096-0031
DOI:10.1111/cla.12079