The body plan of members of the class Malacostraca shows a standard pattern of appendage arrangement along the entire body that suggests

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The standard pattern of appendage arrangement along the entire body in Malacostraca suggests serial homology, meaning that the appendages are all derived from a common ancestral structure and have been modified for different functions along the body. This is a common feature in arthropods. Telsonization refers to the specialization of the last segment of the body into a tail-like structure, which is not the case in Malacostraca. Arthropodization refers to the general evolution of the arthropod body plan, but does not specifically apply to Malacostraca. Analogous homology refers to structures that have similar functions but different evolutionary origins, and convergent evolution refers to the independent evolution of similar traits in different lineages, neither of which apply to the standard pattern of appendage arrangement in Malacostraca.

The Body Plan of Members of the Class Malacostraca Shows