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The metastoma is a ventral single plate located in the opisthosoma of non-arachnid Dekatriata chelicerates such as , and the genus Houia. The metastoma located between the base of 6th prosomal appendage pair and may had functioned as part of the animal's feeding structures. It most likely represented a fused appendage pair originated from somite 7 (first opisthosomal segment), thus homologous to the chilaria of horseshoe crab and 4th walking leg pair of sea spider. In eurypterids, the plate was typically cordate (heart-shaped) in shape, though differed in shape in some genera, such as Megalograptus.
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