The world of arthropods

The evolutionary interrelationship of arthropods (jointed-legged animals) has long been a matter of dispute. A new phylogeny based on an analysis of over 41,000 base pairs of DNA from 75 species, including representatives of every major arthropod lineage, should ease the way towards a consensus on the matter. The data support the idea that insects are land-living crustaceans, that crustaceans comprise a diverse assemblage of at last three distinct arthropod types, and that myriapods (millipedes and centipedes) are the closest relatives of this great ‘pancrustacean’ group.