Trogulidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Trogulidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Trogulus tricarinatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Opiliones |
| Suborder: | Dyspnoi |
| Superfamily: | Troguloidea |
| Family: | Trogulidae Sundevall, 1833 |
| Genera | |
| Diversity | |
| 6 genera, 65 species | |
 | |
| Approximate natural range of Trogulidae | |
Trogulidae is a family of harvestmen comprising 65 extant species (plus 1 extinct) in five genera.
Members of this species have short legs and live in soil. They have dirt attached to their bodies, to escape predators. Their body length ranges from 2 to 22 mm. In most genera, the body is somewhat flattened and leathery. Adults have a small hood which hides their short chelicerae and pedipalps.[1]
Members of this family occur in western and southern Europe, up to western North Africa and the Levant, the Caucasus and northern Iran. Trogulus tricarinatus, a predator of terrestrial snails, has been introduced to eastern North America.[1]
Name
The derivation of the name of the type genus, Trogulus, is not fully understood. The describer Latreille wrote that he named it because it looks like a monkshood. Perrier (1929) however derived the name from the Ancient Greek trogein "gnawing", because of the rough, "gnawed-upon" appearance.[1]
