Evolution of ocelli and optic neuropils of Pycnogonida (Arthropoda): Fine structure and neuroanatomy

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We seek to undertake a comparative analysis of the pycnogonid visual system on two levels: (1) Fine structural analysis of the eye quadruple of representatives of the major pycnogonid lineages according to their actual systematics, and (2) analysis of the visual neuropils of three “model” pycnogonids using neuroanatomical techniques. The scope of the project is to reveal the visual system’s sets of characters in the groundplan of Pycnogonida and thus contribute to reconstruction of the phylogeny of the most ancestral arthropod phyla.