''Trogulus torosus'' is a species of large harvestman (order

Opiliones 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 ...

) in the family

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 ...

. It occurs in

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 ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, and

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 ...

. It is the largest harvestman in the world by body length, up to .

Distribution and ecology

''Trogulus torosus'' occurs mostly near the coast, usually in the entrance areas of

cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...

s. While less common, specimens have been recorded outside of caves, usually retreating into layers of rock. Cave records are common due to more thorough research and specimens retreating into more accessible areas.

Description

The body is red-brown, elongated, and flat, with inconspicuously short

hairs Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fin ...

and a prominent medial ridge. Small papillae (bumps) occur across much of the

prosoma The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

and

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

. The legs are robust, with hairs only conspicuous on the metatarsus and tarsus segments.

References

Harvestmen Arachnids of Europe Endemic fauna of the Balkans Animals described in 1885 Taxa named by Eugène Simon {{Opiliones-stub