Amblypygi

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Amblypygi (tail-less whipscorpions, whipspiders; class Arachnida) Order of dark-coloured arachnids, in which the abdomen is flat, oval, without a telson, and lacking a terminal flagellum, spray glands, and spinnerets. The first pair of legs is long, whip-like, and with many false segments; they are highly sensitive to touch and are used in water location and mating. The raptorial pedipalps are held parallel to the ground and their last two segments may be almost chelate. The chelicerae are subchelate. Arthropod prey, e.g. cockroaches, crickets, beetles, and spiders, are impaled on the pedipalpal spines, pre-oral liquefaction presumably taking place. Amblypygids live in humid conditions under stones, logs, bark, and litter, and some are cavernicolous. The 60 or so species are divided between two families, and are tropical and subtropical in distribution.

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