Phylum Arthropoda: Introduction and Arachnida

Abstract In this chapter we present an updated taxonomic review of the inland water members of the phylum Arthropoda, which includes the Chelicerata (mites and spiders), Myriapoda (aquatic millipedes), and Crustacea (crustaceans, apterygotans, and insects). The Chelicerata are covered most extensively in this chapter, while Neotropical insects (now within the subphylum Crustacea) are introduced in Chapter 17 . For extensive coverage of the Neotropical insects, readers are referred to Vol III: Keys to Neotropical Hexapoda. In the current volume, the authors have included sections on taxonomic limitations in the keys, terminology and morphological terms needed to use the keys, techniques for preparing and preserving specimens, and taxonomic keys for spiders and some mite orders, with an emphasis on the oribatid mites.