The Dicranolasmatidae are a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

family of

harvestmen The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an Order (biology), order of arachnids, Common name, colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs (see below). , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered w ...

with 16 described species in a single genus, ''Dicranolasma''.

Description

Species of ''Dicranolasma'' range in body length from three to 6.4 mm. Most parts of the body are encrusted with soil particles. The anterior region features a large headlike "hood" with the eyes in center, which consists of two curved processes. The

chelicera The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or as a type ...

e and

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 are both hidden under the hood in adults and about half as long as the body. The legs are short. Immature forms are quite different from adults. The immature form of ''D. opilionoides'' was even described as a different genus (''Amopaum''). The hood develops only gradually, so in young ''Dicranolasma'' the relatively longer pedipalps are carried outside the hood. (2007): Dicranolasmatidae Simon, 1879. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al.'' 2007: 142ff

Distribution

Dicranolasmatidae occur mainly in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region northward to the southern

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, the

Carpathians The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains ...

, eastward to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

, the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

and southward to western

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

Relationships

The Dicranolasmatidae are closely related to the

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 f ...

and

Nemastomatidae The Nemastomatidae are a family of harvestmen with about 170 described species in 16 recent genera. Several fossil species and genera are known. Unlike some related currently recognized families, the Nemastomatidae are monophyletic. (2007): Nema ...

, with '' Trogulus'' probably sister to ''Dicranolasma''. The genus consists of five species groups:Bayram & Çorak 2007Gruber 1998 * ''D. scabrum'' group — Aegean Islands, Turkey, Caucasia,

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

** ''D. scabrum'', ''D. opilionoides'', ''D. hoberlandti'', ''D. giljarovi'', ''D. kurdistanum'', ''D. thracium'', ''D. ressli'', ''D. ponticum'', ''D. cretaeum''. * ''D. mladeni'' group * ''D. cristatum'' group * ''D. soerensenii'' group * ''D. apuanum'' group

Etymology

The genus name ''Dicranolasma'' is a combination of

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''di'' "two", ''kranion'' "head", and ''elasma'' "plate", referring to the distinctive bifurcated hood of the genus.

Species

The 16 recognised species of ''Dicranolasma'', along with their type localities: *'' Dicranolasma apuanum'' Marcellino, 1970 -

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

*'' Dicranolasma cretaeum'' Gruber, 1998 -

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

*'' Dicranolasma cristatum'' Thorell, 1876 -

*'' Dicranolasma giljarovi'' Silhavý, 1966 -

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

*'' Dicranolasma hirtum'' Loman, 1894 -

*'' Dicranolasma hoberlandti'' Silhavý, 1956 -

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

*'' Dicranolasma kurdistanum'' Starega, 1970 -

*'' Dicranolasma mladeni'' Karaman, 1990 -

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

*'' Dicranolasma opilionoides'' ( L. Koch, 1867) -

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

*'' Dicranolasma pauper'' Dahl, 1903 -

*'' Dicranolasma ponticum'' Gruber, 1998 -

*'' Dicranolasma ressli'' Gruber, 1998 -

*'' Dicranolasma scabrum'' ( Herbst, 1799) -

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

*'' Dicranolasma soerensenii'' Thorell, 1876 -

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

*'' Dicranolasma thracium'' Starega, 1976 -

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

*'' Dicranolasma verhoeffi'' Dahl, 1903 -

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q18611760, from2=Q2322353 Harvestman families