Fig. 11.

Small organisms are illuminating especially uropodines in the space of all the mesostigmatid data (this study + from Buryn and Brandl 1992). Upper Plot of chelal velocity ratio ($VR=\frac{L1}{L2}$) versus reach (CL) for mesostigmatids. Black solid circles = uropodines. Bubble size is estimated chelal crunch size (F2AV). Note high velocity ratios for small reach and gape uropodines. Middle Plot of reach (CL) versus gape (MDL) and common allometric regression line. Black solid circles = uropodines. Bubble size is log body size (IL). Note subset with a much bigger reach than the overall allometric relationship would suggest for that chelal gape (or alternatively a much smaller gape for a similar reach to other mesostigmatids). Lower Plot of gape (MDL) versus reach (CL) with separate regressions lines for food type. Here, grey circles and grey dashed line = worm-like prey feeding; black circles and black solid line = microarthropod feeding. Linear regression lines (simply for illustration). Left: Arithmetic scales. Note how uropodines drag the worm-like feeding regression upwards. Right Log–log scales blown up at low x-axis (gape) values. Polyphagous species (criss-cross open square pattern filled circles) plot in and amongst worm-like prey and micro-arthropod feeders. Omnivore circles are filled with spotted pattern. The uropodine omnivore Trachytes aegrota plots in the isolated subgroup