Callipallenidae Hilton, 1942

Staples, D. A., 2021, Diagnosis ofthe new genusAgnathia (Pycnogonida, Callipallenidae) and description of two new species from southern Australia, Zootaxa 4950 (3), pp. 487-500 : 488

Family Callipallenidae Hilton, 1942

Diagnosis. Octopodus. Body oval or elongate, lateral processes touching or distinctly separated, with tubercles or spines or smooth; cephalon neck, long or short. Palps absent or variably present, in male only, or both sexes, 1–4 segmented. Anal tubercle typically short, erect or inclined. Ocular tubercle on posterior half of the cephalon. Eyes four, or eight. Proboscis directed obliquely downwards or carried in line with the trunk, distally mammilliform, truncate or tubiform, jaws and lips triradiate, with sclerotized jaws or petal-shaped reflexing lips. Chelifore welldeveloped, variously angled, scape one-segmented, sexual dimorphism variable, chelae well-developed, cutting edges of fingers toothed, smooth, irregular or rugose. Oviger 10-segmented in both sexes or six-segmented in some males, fifth segment of male oviger longer than that of female and either clavate or with distal apophysis; strigilis present, spines compound or simple, in single row, terminal claw present or absent. Tarsus much shorter than propodus, auxiliary claws present or absent. Genital pores, ventrodistal, second coxae, female all legs, male legs 3 and 4. Cement glands present or absent.

The understanding of a polyphyletic Callipallenidae is well supported both on morphological grounds ( Staples 2014) and in molecular analyses ( Arabi et al. 2010 and Ballesteros et al. 2020).