Biantidae is a family of the

harvestman The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs (see below). , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total n ...

infraorder

Grassatores The Grassatores Kury, 2002 are the most diverse infraorder of the Laniatores. It includes over 3,700 species distributed mainly in the tropicsKury, A.B.(2003). Annotated catalogue of the Laniatores of the New World (Arachnida, Opiliones). '' Revi ...

with about 130 described species. (2007): Biantidae Thorell, 1889. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al.'' 2007: 176ff

Description

Biantidae are between 1.5 and 5.5 millimeters long, with legs ranging from three to 25 mm and enlarged, armed

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

s. Many species are

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

, many others yellow with dark mottling.

Distribution

Biantidae have radiated greatly on the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

and

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

(which was once connected to India), with many other species from mainland

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. One subfamily however, the Stenostygninae, is found on the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, with one described species from mainland northern South America.

Relationships

Biantidae are included in the superfamily

Samooidea Samooidea is a large superfamily in the Grassatores group of Opiliones, harvestmen. It includes around 380 species distributed throughout the tropics. They are characterized by the complex male genitalia, with eversible complementary sclerites. ...

, which mainly radiated in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Name

The type genus is named after Biantes, the son of

Parthenopaeus In Greek mythology, Parthenopaeus or Parthenopaios (; ) was one of the Seven against Thebes, a native of Arcadia, described as young and outstandingly good-looking, but at the same time arrogant, ruthless and over-confident, although an unprobl ...

, one of the

Epigoni In Greek mythology, the Epigoni or Epigonoi (; from , meaning "offspring") are the sons of the Argive heroes, the Seven against Thebes, who had fought and been killed in the first Theban war, the subject of the ''Thebaid'', in which Polynices an ...

who marched against

Thebes Thebes or Thebae may refer to one of the following places: *Thebes, Egypt, capital of Egypt under the 11th, early 12th, 17th and early 18th Dynasties *Thebes, Greece, a city in Boeotia *Phthiotic Thebes Phthiotic Thebes ( or Φθιώτιδες Θ ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

Genera

For a list of all described species, see the

List of Biantidae species A list is a set of discrete items of information collected and set forth in some format for utility, entertainment, or other purposes. A list may be memorialized in any number of ways, including existing only in the mind of the list-maker, but ...

Biantinae

* '' Anaceros'' Lawrence, 1959 —

(4 species) * '' Biantella'' Roewer, 1927 —

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

(1 species) * '' Biantes'' Simon, 1885 —

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

(30 species) * '' Biantessus'' Roewer, 1949 —

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(2 species) * '' Biantomma'' Roewer, 1942 —

Bioko Bioko (; ; ; historically known as Fernando Pó, ) is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located south of the coast of Cameroon, and northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the is ...

(1 species) * '' Clinobiantes'' Roewer, 1927 — Cameroon (1 species) * '' Cryptobiantes'' Kauri, 1962 (1 species) * '' Eubiantes'' Roewer, 1915 — eastern

(1 species) * '' Fageibiantes'' Roewer, 1949 — Madagascar (2 species) * '' Hinzuanius'' Karsch, 1880 — Madagascar,

Socotra Socotra, locally known as Saqatri, is a Yemeni island in the Indian Ocean. Situated between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian Sea, it lies near major shipping routes. Socotra is the largest of the six islands in the Socotra archipelago as ...

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

(14 species) * '' Ivobiantes'' Lawrence, 1965 (1 species) * '' Metabiantes'' Roewer, 1915 — Africa (41 species) * '' Monobiantes'' Lawrence, 1962 (1 species) * '' Probiantes'' Roewer, 1927 — India (1 species)

Lacurbsinae

* '' Eulacurbs'' Roewer, 1949 —

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

(1 species) * '' Heterolacurbs'' Roewer, 1912 —

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

(1 species) * '' Lacurbs'' Sørensen, 1896 — Cameroon,

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

(2 species) * '' Metalacurbs'' Roewer, 1914 — western Africa (4 species) * '' Prolacurbs'' Roewer, 1949 — Ghana (1 species)

Stenostygninae

* '' Bidoma'' Silhavy, 1973 —

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

(1 species) * '' Caribbiantes'' Silhavy, 1973 —

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

(1 species) * '' Decuella'' Avram, 1977 — Cuba (1 species) * '' Galibrotus'' Silhavy, 1973 — Cuba (3 species) * '' Heterolacurbs'' Roewer, 1912 — Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands (2 species, inc. '' Martibianta'' Silhavy, 1973) (!After Hallan) * '' Manahunca'' Silhavy, 1973 — Cuba (3 species) * '' Negreaella'' Avram, 1977 — Cuba (5 species) * '' Stenostygnus'' Simon, 1879 — northern

(1 species) * '' Vestitecola'' Silhavy, 1973 — Haiti (1 species)

Zairebiantinae

* '' Zairebiantes'' H. Kauri, 1985 —

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

(1 species)

Footnotes

References

* 's Biology Catalog
Biantidae
* (eds.) (2007): Harvestmen - The Biology of Opiliones. ''Harvard University Press'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q2103507 Harvestman families