< back to Adriano B. Kury
< back to Arachnology lab
< back to Museu Nacional
> to List of genera
of Opiliones
Info
Definition: Harvestmen are members of the class Arachnida, order Opiliones.
Relationships: Opiliones are more closely related to scorpions than to spiders (following Shultz, 1990, but there are different interpretations in that Scorpiones do not even make part of the Arachnida).
Diversity: This group constitutes the fourth largest order of the arachnids (following Araneae, Acari, Pseudoscorpiones), with almost 6500 described species.
Distribution: They are one of the more widely distributed groups of organisms; occurring in most terrestrial habitats and on all continents except Antarctica proper. They are much vulnerable to human destructive action on our planet and many species are endangered by the quick deforestation of Earth.
Who are they?
Laniatores: these are the stout, spiny harvestmen found in the Tropics, which may reach very large size.
Dyspnoi: these are Temperate Old World species, dull-colored and short-legged. Some species may have bizarre ocular ornamentation.
Eupnoi: these are the daddy-longlegs, familiar to Europeans and Americans. They have coriaceous tegument, delicate pedipalps, legs often very thin and long. There is a a myriad of tropical species (Gagrellinae), which may have mettalic shines, intricate honeycomb patterns of granulation, and striped/dotted multicolored hues of blue, red, green, yellow.
Cyphs: these are the minute acari-like Opiliones
which were undersampled until the last decades, when intensive studies made them much better known.
Worldwide Opiliones species count in September 2009 is...
| Suborder | Superfamily/Infraorder | Number of species |
| Cyphophthalmi | n/a | 166 |
| Eupnoi | Caddoidea | 24 |
| Eupnoi | Phalangioidea | 1785 |
| Dyspnoi | Ischyropsalidoidea | 102 |
| Dyspnoi | Troguloidea | 271 |
| Laniatores | Travunioidea | 77 |
| Laniatores | Triaenonychoidea | 471 |
| Laniatores | Grassatores | 3592 |
| OPILIONES TOTAL | -- | 6488 |
Bibliography
A bibliography of Opiliones systematics is the OmniPaper project developed by the Arachno-Lab of the National Museum, Rio. Besides the list of publications and short biographies of the systematists, it has some pdfs of papers.
Kury's Laniator catalogue is out! See release note...
Systematics
Below a synoptic classification of the order Opiliones is given down to family-group level.
Order Opiliones Sundevall 1833
SUBORDER Cyphophthalmi Simon 1879
Remark. A recent phylogenetic analysis (Giribet & Boyer, 2002) did not recover Shear's infraorders Tropicophthalmi and Temperophthalmi, and only considered Stylocellidae and Petallidae as monophyletic groups. The authors, however, refrained from doing nomenclatural changes.
Giribet, G. & S. L. Boyer, 2002. A cladistic analysis of the Cyphophthalmid genera (Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi). Journal of Arachnology, 30: 110-128.
UPDATED INFO ON CYPHS CAN BE FOUND AT GIRIBET'S PAGE
Recent updates on taxonomic placement of some genera are found in:
Giribet, G. 2003. Karripurcellia, a new pettalid genus (Arachnida : Opiliones : Cyphophthalmi) from Western Australia, with a cladistic analysis of the family Pettalidae. Invertebrate Systematics 17: 387-406.
Giribet, G. and
C. E. Prieto. 2003. A new Afrotropical Ogovea (Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi)
from Cameroon, with a discussion on the taxonomic characters in the family Ogoveidae.
Zootaxa 329: 1-18.
Because of the uncertainty in the macro-phylogeny of this suborder (Giribet
& Kury, 2007), suprafamilial groups in Cyphophthalmi are not included. The
six recognized families ae listed in alphabetical order.
Neogoveidae Shear 1980
Ogoveidae Shear 1980
Pettalidae Shear 1980
Sironidae Simon 1879
Stylocellidae Hansen & Sørensen
1904
Troglosironidae
Shear 1993
SUBORDER Eupnoi Hansen & Sørensen 1904
The
family Stygophalangiidae has been erected
for a species of the underground waters of Macedonia, but it is probably an
Acari.
Caddoidea Banks 1892
Caddidae Banks 1892
Caddinae Banks 1892
Acropsopilioninae Roewer 1923
Phalangioidea Latreille 1802
Monoscutidae Forster 1948
Megalopsalidinae Forster 1949
Monoscutinae Forster 1948
Neopilionidae Lawrence 1931
Ballarrinae Hunt & Cokendolpher
1991
Enantiobuninae Mello-Leitão
1931
Neopilioninae Lawrence 1931
Sclerosomatidae Simon 1879
Gagrellinae Thorell 1889
Gyinae Silhavy 1946
Leiobuninae Banks 1893
Sclerosomatinae Simon 1879
[Stygophalangiidae Oudemans 1933]
Phalangiidae Latreille 1802
"Dicranopalpinae"
[genus group ex Gyinae]
Oligolophinae
Banks 1893
Opilioninae
Koch 1839
Phalangiinae
Latreille 1802
Platybuninae
Starega 1976
Protolophinae
Banks 1893
SUBORDER Dyspnoi Hansen & Sørensen 1904
Ischyropsalidoidea Simon 1879
Ceratolasmatidae
Shear 1986
Ischyropsalididae
Simon 1879
Sabaconidae
Dresco 1970
Troguloidea Sundevall 1833
Dicranolasmatidae
Simon 1879
Nemastomatidae
Simon 1872
Nemastomatinae Simon 1872
Ortholasmatinae Shear & Gruber 1983
†Nemastomoididae
Petrunkevitch 1955
Nipponopsalididae Martens 1976
Trogulidae Sundevall 1833
SUBORDER Laniatores Thorell, 1876
The suborder Laniatores includes less than 4100 species of slow-moving, hard-bodied, short-legged Opiliones, which can vary from minute arachnids (such as Zalmoxidae) only visible in berlese/winkler funnel extractions to the largest representatives of the order (such as Gonyleptidae Goniosomatinae or Pachylinae). The systematics of larger groups in this suborder is currently one of the critical issues of the systematics of the order.
INFRAORDER Insidiatores Loman, 1900
Insidiatores is probably a paraphyletic group, with the Triaenonychoidea closer to the Grassatores.
Travunioidea Absolon & Kratochvil 1932
Cladonychiidae Hadzi, 1935 (= Erebomastridae
Briggs, 1969)
Pentanychidae Briggs
1971
Travuniidae Absolon & Kratochvil 1932
Peltonychiinae Kratochvíl, 1958
Travuniinae Absolon & Kratochvíl 1932
Kaolinonychinae Suzuki, 1976
Nippononychinae Suzuki, 1976
Paranonychinae Briggs, 1971
Sclerobuninae Dumitrescu, 1976
Triaenonychoidea Sørensen, 1886
Synthetonychidae Forster 1954
Triaenonychidae
Sørensen, 1886
Adaeinae Pocock, 1902
Soerensenellinae Forster, 1954
Triaenobuninae Pocock, 1902
Triaenonychinae Sørensen, 1886
INFRAORDER Grassatores Kury, 2002
Samooidea Sørensen, 1886
Biantidae
Thorell, 1889
Biantinae Thorell, 1889 ( = Hinzuanidae Pocock, 1903)
Lacurbsinae Lawrence, 1959
Stenostygninae Roewer, 1913 (= Caribbiantinae Šilhavý, 1973)
Zairebiantinae Kauri, 1985
Escadabiidae
Kury & Pérez, 2003
Kimulidae
Pérez, Kury & Alonso-Zarazaga, 2007 (= Minuidae Sørensen,
1932; = Minuidinae Mello-Leitão, 1933)
Podoctidae
Roewer, 1912 (incl. Erecananinae Roewer, 1912; Ibaloniinae Roewer, 1912)
Samoidae
Sørensen, 1886
Stygnommatidae
Roewer, 1923
Assamioidea Sørensen, 1884
The Assamioidea is rather a undiferentiated assemblage of generic Grassatores which may be close to the base of the Gonyleptoidea. Assamiidae has many meaningless subfamilies.
Assamiidae
Sørensen, 1884 (incl. Trionyxellidae
Roewer, 1912)
Epedanidae
Sørensen, 1886
Acrobuninae Roewer, 1912
Dibuninae Roewer, 1912
Epedaninae Sørensen, 1886
Sarasinicinae Roewer, 1923 (= Sarasinellinae Roewer, 1913)
“Pyramidopidae”
Stygnopsidae
Sørensen, 1932 (= Isaeinae Mello-Leitão, 1938; = Troglostygnopsinae
Šilhavý, 1974)
Gonyleptoidea Sundevall, 1833
Agoristenidae
Šilhavý, 1973
Agoristeninae Šilhavý, 1973
Leiosteninae Šilhavý, 1973
Zamorinae Kury, 1997
Cosmetidae
Koch, 1839
Cosmetinae Koch, 1839 (= Palpinidae Pickard-Cambridge,
1905; = Cynortinae Mello-Leitão, 1933)
Discosomaticinae Roewer, 1923
Cranaidae Roewer,
1913
Cranainae Roewer, 1913
Heterocranainae Roewer, 1913
Prostygninae Roewer, 1913
Stygnicranainae Roewer, 1913
Gonyleptidae
Sundevall, 1833
Ampycinae Kury, 2003
Bourguyiinae Mello-Leitão,
1923
Caelopyginae Sørensen,
1884 (= Dasypoleptinae Mello-Leitão, 1949)
Cobaniinae Kury, 1994
Goniosomatinae Mello-Leitão,
1935
Gonyassamiinae Soares &
Soares, 1988
Gonyleptinae Sundevall, 1833
Hernandariinae Sørensen,
1884 (= Apembolephaeninae Mello-Leitão, 1933)
Heteropachylinae Kury, 1994
Metasarcinae Kury, 1994
Mitobatinae Simon, 1879
Pachylinae Sørensen,
1884
Pachylospeleinae Šilhavý,
1974
Progonyleptoidellinae Soares
& Soares, 1985
Sodreaninae Soares &
Soares, 1985
Tricommatinae Roewer, 1912
Manaosbiidae
Roewer, 1943
Stygnidae
Simon, 1879
Heterostygninae
Roewer, 1913
Nomoclastinae
Roewer, 1943
Stygninae
Simon, 1879
Phalangodoidea Simon, 1879
Oncopodidae
Thorell, 1876
Phalangodidae
Simon, 1879 (= Paralolidae Kratochvíl, 1958; = Lolinae Kratochvíl,
1958)
Zalmoxoidea Sørensen, 1886
Fissiphalliidae
Martens, 1988
Guasiniidae
Gonzalez-Sponga, 1997
Icaleptidae
Kury & Pérez, 2002
Zalmoxidae
Sørensen, 1886 (= Stygnoleptinae H. Soares, 1972)
Page conceived and arranged by AB Kury. Updated 2007.
Photo credits are Renner Baptista (RLCB), Abel Pérez (APG) & Ricardo Pinto da Rocha (RPR). Otherwise are all Adriano B. Kury.