Maltese Palpigrade
Encyclopedia
The Maltese palpigrade (known as in Maltese
), endemic to the Maltese Islands, comes from the Order Palpigradi, a rather primitive order
of arachnid
s. There are 80 species
of palpigrade worldwide (see the article Palpigradi). They are small and eyeless with a long tail-like structure.
). Since then, no news of another specimen has been heard of making the Maltese palpigrade a very rare species.
Maltese language
Maltese is the national language of Malta, and a co-official language of the country alongside English,while also serving as an official language of the European Union, the only Semitic language so distinguished. Maltese is descended from Siculo-Arabic...
), endemic to the Maltese Islands, comes from the Order Palpigradi, a rather primitive order
Order (biology)
In scientific classification used in biology, the order is# a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family...
of arachnid
Arachnid
Arachnids are a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, although in some species the front pair may convert to a sensory function. The term is derived from the Greek words , meaning "spider".Almost all extant arachnids are terrestrial...
s. There are 80 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of palpigrade worldwide (see the article Palpigradi). They are small and eyeless with a long tail-like structure.
Discovery
The Maltese palpigrade was first discovered in 1988 when a specimen was found in a cave in the Girgenti Valley (MaltaMalta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
). Since then, no news of another specimen has been heard of making the Maltese palpigrade a very rare species.