''Tyrannochthonius aridus'' is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
pseudoscorpion
Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are small, scorpion-like arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida.
Pseudoscorpions are generally beneficial to humans bec ...
in the
Chthoniidae
Chthoniidae is a family of pseudoscorpions within the superfamily Chthonioidea. The family contains more than 600 species in about 30 genera. Fossil species are known from Baltic, Dominican, and Burmese amber.Biology Catalog Chthoniidae now inc ...
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 ...
. It is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to Australia. It was
described in 2008 by Australian
arachnologist
Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, ticks, and mites. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly ...
s Karen Edward and
Mark Harvey
Mark Harvey (born 11 June 1965) is a former Australian rules football player and coach. He played over 200 games during fourteen seasons with the Essendon Football Club, winning three premierships, and was senior coach of Fremantle from 2007 t ...
.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in
North West Australia
The North West, North West Coast, North Western Australia and North West Australia, are usually informal names for the northern regions of Western Australia, regions of the State of Western Australia. However, some conceptions of "North West A ...
. The
type locality is Cave B6 on
Barrow Island, off the
Pilbara
The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
coast.
Behaviour
The arachnids are
cave-dwelling,
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...
predators
Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill ...
.
References
aridus
Endemic fauna of Australia
Pseudoscorpions of Australia
Cave arachnids
Arthropods of Western Australia
Animals described in 2008
Taxa named by Mark Harvey
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