( Opiliones )
PHOTO COMMENT
)
LOCATION DETAILS
RECOGNITION
BIOLOGY
CREDITS
Adrian Cotter
Insect Sciences Museum of California
References
| Harvestman ( Opiliones ) | |
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PHOTO COMMENT | |
| IDENTIFICATION | |
| Identification: | Opiliones ) |
| Common Name: | Harvestman |
| Life Stage: | (A) adult |
| PHYLOGENY | |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Opiliones |
| Taxon Code: | ARA02361 |
| ITIS/TSN: | 82753 |
LOCATION DETAILS | |
| Location Name | |
| Cerrito Creek, Albany | |
| County: | Alameda County |
| ECI Site#: | CA01020000 |
RECOGNITION | |
| Description | |
| Easily separated from spiders by the broad fusion of the two body segments, so that the body appears to be composed of a singular segment. Also, as they do not possess silk glands, harvestmen can't form webs. Uniquely among the arachnids fertilization is direct: males possess a penis (also referred to in the literature as pene, aedagus or intromittent organ). | |
| Body Length | |
| Variable; body sizes range from a few millimeters to a few centimeters. Legs are several times the size of the body in the more familiar daddy-long-legs forms of the Phalangioidea. | |
| Diversity | |
| More than, 6,500 species worldwide arranged into 46 families of 4 suborders (of which Laniatores is by far the largest, with more than 4,100 species. | |
| Similar Taxa | |
| Although often mistaken for spiders, these arachnids are more closely related to scorpions | |
BIOLOGY | |
| In some cases, in dry climates, they gather in large numbers during the day, probably to avoid dessication, and wander about in search of food after the sun goes down. | |
| Habitat | |
| All habitats (except possibly deserts) in Canada & the US: forests, grasslands, wetlands, mountains, caves, chaparral, and anthropogenic habitats. | |
| Range | |
| Global, except Antarctica | |
| Diversity | |
| More than, 6,500 species worldwide arranged into 46 families of 4 suborders (of which Laniatores is by far the largest, with more than 4,100 species. | |
| Active Period | |
| Season: Not likely to be found in winter months in northern/montane regions, except as overwintering populations in refugia (e.g., caves). | |
| Development | |
| Egg, juvenile, adult. Some reproduce sexually (direct fertilization, males possess a penis); others, parthenogenetically (i.e., without males). | |
CREDITS | |
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Photographer Adrian Cotter Insect Sciences Museum of California | |
References | |
| Order Opiliones - Harvestmen. (http://bugguide.net/node/view/2405). Accessed March 12, 2016. . | |
| ITIS. | |
