Texella cokendolpheri
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The Cokendolpher cave harvestman, Texella cokendolpheri, is a species of cave-living harvestman (daddy longlegs) native to Bexar County, Texas. The original common name, the Robber Baron Cave harvestman, stemmed from the cave which the harvestman inhabits. The scientific name and the current common name honor the prominent arachnologist, James Cokendolpher, who identified the species.[1] T. cokendolpheri is one of twenty-eight species within the North American harvestman genus Texella. The first formal description of the harvestman took place in 1992[1] and the species’ listing under the Endangered Species Act followed eight years later.[2] Current threats to the species include habitat loss and interactions with invasive fire ants.[3]
| Texella cokendolpheri | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Opiliones |
| Family: | Phalangodidae |
| Genus: | Texella |
| Species: | T. cokendolpheri |
| Binomial name | |
| Texella cokendolpheri Ubick and Briggs, 1992 | |
The adult Cokendolpher cave harvestman is pale orange and roughly textured. They have no eyes. However, they do have round bumps on their heads, called eye mounds, which are vestigial structures where their ancestors previously had eyes. The species’ body is oval shaped and ranges from 1.28 millimeters (mm) (0.05 inches) to 1.67 mm (0.07 inches) in diameter. The length of each of their eight legs ranges from 13.1 mm (0.52 inches) to 13.6 mm (0.54 inches) each. The species is a troglobite, meaning that it is adapted to the darkness of a cave environment. The Cokendolpher cave harvestman’s primary adaptations to its cave habitat are bright orange coloration and the loss of eyes.[1]
Other harvestmen of the Texella genus are dioecious. Males and females exhibit sexual dimorphism. For example, Texella males have more mounds on their hard shell, called a scutum, than females.[5]
Species within the harvestman family Phalangodidae, including T. cokendolpheri, are united by the position of spines on their pedipalps. However, distinguishing this species from closely related harvestmen, such as Texella tuberculata, can only be done by differences in adult male genitals.[1] Such small differences between species make identification of this harvestman challenging.
Life History
The life cycle of T. cokendolpheri and other species in the Texella genus is not well studied. However, T. cokendolpheri likely shares some characteristics with related, better studied harvestmen. Fertilization of harvestman eggs is internal. After mating, females lay eggs on the ground or inside cracks between rocks.[5] Harvestmen molt between 4 and 7 times during development but do not molt as adults.[5] The life span of harvestmen ranges from several months to several years,[5] but the life span of T. cokendolpheri is unknown.