Phrynidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

amblypygid Amblypygi is an order of arachnids also known as whip-spiders or tailless whip-scorpions, not to be confused with whip-scorpions or vinegaroons that belong to the related order Thelyphonida. The name "amblypygid" means "blunt tail", a reference ...

arachnida Arachnids are arthropods in the class Arachnida () of the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroons. Adult arachnids ...

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s also known as whip spiders and tailless whip scorpions. Phrynidae species are found in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

regions in North and

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 ...

. Some species are subterranean; all are

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

. At least some species of Phrynidae hold territories that they defend from other individuals.

Taxonomy

The following genera are recognised: ;Phrynidae Blanchard, 1852 *'' Acanthophrynus'' Kraepelin, 1899 (1 species) *†'' Britopygus'' Dunlop & Martill, 2002 (1 species;

Crato Formation The Crato Formation is a geologic formation (stratigraphy), formation of Early Cretaceous (Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätten, Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontology, pa ...

, Brazil, Early Cretaceous (

Aptian The Aptian is an age (geology), age in the geologic timescale or a stage (stratigraphy), stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early Cretaceous, Early or Lower Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or series (stratigraphy), S ...

)) *†'' Electrophrynus'' Petrunkevich, 1971 Chiapas amber, Mexico,

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

(''

nomen dubium In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

'') *''

Heterophrynus ''Heterophrynus'' is a genus of whip spiders, also known as tailless whip scorpions (order Amblypygi), of the family Phrynidae, in the monotypic subfamily Heterophryninae. Species There are 17 species: *''Heterophrynus alces'' Pocock, 1902 *' ...

'' Pocock, 1894 (17 species) *''

Paraphrynus ''Paraphrynus'' is a genus of whip spiders, also known as tailless whip scorpions (order Amblypygi), of the family Phrynidae. It is distributed from the southwestern United States to Central America, including several Caribbean islands. Most spec ...

'' Moreno, 1940 (18 species) *''

Phrynus ''Phrynus'' is a genus of whip spiders found in tropical and subtropical regions, mostly in the new world. Appearance Like other species of the order Amblypygi, species of the genus ''Phrynus'' are dorso-ventrally flattened arachnids with elonga ...

'' Lamarck, 1801 (28 species, Oligocene - Recent)

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q3381696 Arachnid orders Extant Pennsylvanian first appearances