The Eupnoi are a suborder 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. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, alth ...

, with more than 200 genera, and about 1,700 described species. They consist of two superfamilies, the Phalangioidea with many long-legged species common to northern temperate regions, and the small group Caddoidea, which have prominent eyes and spiny pedipalps. (2007): Morphology and Functional Anatomy. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al.'' 2007: 17f Examples of this suborder include '' Hadrobunus grandis'' (Sclerosomatidae), ''

Phalangium opilio ''Phalangium opilio'' is a species of harvestman belonging to the family Phalangiidae. Distribution It is "the most widespread species of harvestman in the world", occurring natively in Europe, and much of Asia. The species has been intro ...

'' and '' Dicranopalpus ramosus'' (Phalangiidae).

Distribution

Caddoidea are mostly found in temperate zones of both hemispheres; however, they are known from the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...

only from Japan, and from Baltic amber (about 40 million years old). One species known from Japan is also found in North America, where several more species are found. Other species occur in Southern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and Australia. Neopilionidae show a Gondwanan distribution, with species found in South America,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and Australia. Sclerosomatidae are divided into several subfamilies, with Gagrellinae found in the

Indo-Malayan The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...

and neotropical region, Gyinae at high elevations in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

, Leiobuninae in the holarctic region down to Costa Rica, and Sclerosomatinae only in the Palearctic. In the Phalangiidae, the Phalangiinae are most diverse in the Mediterranean, with several endemic genera in nearby coastal Africa. Although there are several Phalangiinae in the Nearctic, they are all introduced. Opilioninae are mostly palearctic, with a few species found in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

. Oligolophinae are holarctic, with most species found in Europe. Platybuninae are also found from Europe to the Caucasus, with one find from Sumatra. (2007): Phylogeny and Biogeography. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al.'' 2007

Relationships

Two different views exist at the moment: in the traditional view Eupnoi and Dyspnoi form a clade, with Laniatores as a sister group; however recently it has been proposed that Eupnoi are sister to a clade formed by Dyspnoi and Laniatores.

Systematics

Although the two recognized superfamilies Caddoidea and Phalangoidea are probably monophyletic, the limits of families and subfamilies are uncertain in many cases, and are in urgent need of further study. :''Genus and species numbers are from the year 2005.'' * Caddoidea ** Caddidae (6 genera, 21 species) * Phalangioidea ** Monoscutidae (5 genera, 32 species) **

Neopilionidae The Neopilionidae are a family of harvestmen. It has a clearly Gondwanan distribution, with species found in Australia, South Africa and South America, and probably represent relicts of that time. The family members range in size from the small ...

(8 genera, 15 species) **

Sclerosomatidae The Sclerosomatidae are a family of harvestmen with about 1,300 known species. Name The name is combined from Ancient Greek ''skleros'' "hard" and ''soma'' "body". (2007): Sclerosomatidae. Simon, 1879. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al.'' 2007: 127ff ...

(148 genera, 1273 species) ** Phalangiidae (49 genera, 381 species) The supposed family " Stygophalangiidae", with its sole described species '' Stygophalangium karamani'' Oudemans, 1933 from former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

is not a harvestman, but very likely a species of mite.

Footnotes

References

Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog
(2005) * (eds.) (2007): Harvestmen - The Biology of Opiliones. ''Harvard University Press'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q1953008 Harvestmen Arthropods of South America Arthropod suborders

Distribution

Relationships

Systematics

See also

Footnotes

References