Of mites and millipedes: recent progress in resolving the base of the arthropod tree

Abstract

Deep-level arthropod phylogeny has been in a state of upheaval ever since the emergence of molecular tree reconstruction approaches. While a consensus has settled in that hexapods are more closely related to crustaceans than to myriapods, the phylogenetic position of the latter has remained a matter of debate. Mitochondrial, nuclear, and genome-scale studies have proposed rejecting the long-standing superclade Mandibulata, which unites myriapods with insects and crustaceans, in favor of a clade that unites myriapods with chelicerates and has become known as Paradoxapoda or Myriochelata. Here we discuss the progress, problems, and prospects of arriving at the final arthropod tree.