Phylum Arthropoda 1 Arthropoda Overview Subphylum Chelicerata Class Merostomata Class Pycnogonida.
Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Chelicerata Chelicerae are pointed appendages which are used to grasp...
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Transcript of Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Chelicerata Chelicerae are pointed appendages which are used to grasp...
Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum Chelicerata
• Chelicerae are pointed appendages which are used to grasp food
• Subphylum Chelicerata includes sea spiders (class Pycnogonida) and arachnids (class Arachnida)!
Horseshoe Crabs
• Horseshoe crabs belong to class Merostomata (“thigh mouth”)
• Appendages used for feeding at one end, and for swimming/locomotion at the other
• Critically important in coastal marine food webs– Why?
© Steffen Foerster Photography/ShutterStock, Inc.
Horseshoe crabs
• Oldest record of horseshoe crab fossils date back 450 million years ago
• Horseshoe crab blood contains hemocyanin to carry oxygen; blue
• Blood contains amebocytes which release a clotting factor when exposed to bacteria– Used to detect
contamination in medications
http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/wp-content/blogs.dir/3/files/2008/06/590_crash_blood.jpg