Biramous synonyms

It is highly probable, however, that the biramous limb is a simplification of a more complex primitive type, to which the Phyllopod limb is a more or less close approximation.

In the Malacostraca, the antennules are often biramous, but there is considerable doubt as to whether the two branches represent the endopodite and exopodite of the other limbs, and three branches are found in the Stomatopoda and in some Caridea.

The mandibles, like the antennae, have, in the nauplius, the form of biramous swimming limbs, with a masticatory process originating from the proximal part of the protopodite.

This form is retained, with little alteration in some adult Copepoda, where the biramous " palp " still aids in locomotion.

In the Cirripedia (Thyrostraca) the six pairs of biramous cirriform limbs differ only slightly from each other, and in many Copepoda this is also the case.