Both regular and irregular, i.e., sporadic, absence of the ventral spur (ventral tooth) on the basal cheliceral article has been reported in Oligolophinae. In this contribution, a female Lacinius ephippiatus with one missing ventral spur, and the other partly reduced, on the basal cheliceral article is described. For comparison, we studied chelicerae in a normally developed female from the same locality. We suggest that the ventral spur on the basal cheliceral article is an apomorphic character within Oligolophinae and that its sporadic absence is a case of spontaneous atavism.
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1 October 2013
Absence of a Ventral Spur on the Chelicera in Lacinius ephippiatus (Oligolophinae: Phalangiidae; Opiliones)
P. Kozel,
T. Novak
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Entomological News
Vol. 123 • No. 3
September 2013
Vol. 123 • No. 3
September 2013
apomorphism
Arachnids
spontaneous atavism