The Dicranolasmatidae are a family of

harvestmen The Opiliones (formerly Phalangida) are an order of arachnids colloquially known as harvestmen, harvesters, harvest spiders, or daddy longlegs. , over 6,650 species of harvestmen have been discovered worldwide, although the total number of ext ...

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 similarly ...

e and

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and ...

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 north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

region northward to the southern

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, Sw ...

, the

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

, eastward to the

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

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

, the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

and southward to western

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Relationships

The Dicranolasmatidae are closely related to the

Trogulidae Trogulidae is a family of harvestmen with 5 genera and 57 extant species and one fossil species. 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 fro ...

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 ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

** ''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

Name

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 ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

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

Species

The 16 recognized species of Dicranolasma are listed here, along with their type locality: *''

Dicranolasma apuanum The Dicranolasmatidae are a family of harvestmen 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 soi ...

'' Marcellino, 1970 -

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

*'' Dicranolasma cretaeum'' Gruber, 1998 -

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

*''

Dicranolasma cristatum The Dicranolasmatidae are a family of harvestmen 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 soi ...

'' Thorell, 1876 - Italy *''

Dicranolasma giljarovi The Dicranolasmatidae are a family of harvestmen 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 soi ...

'' Silhavý, 1966 -

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

*'' Dicranolasma hirtum'' Loman, 1894 - Italy *'' Dicranolasma hoberlandti'' Silhavý, 1956 -

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

*'' Dicranolasma kurdistanum'' Starega, 1970 -

*'' Dicranolasma mlandeni'' I. M. Karaman, 1990 -

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

*'' Dicranolasma opilionoides'' (

L. Koch Ludwig Carl Christian Koch (8 November 1825 – 1 November 1908) was a German entomologist and arachnologist. He was born in Regensburg, Germany, and died in Nuremberg, Germany. He studied in Nuremberg, initially law, but then turned to medicin ...

, 1867) -

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

*'' Dicranolasma pauper'' Dahl, 1903 - Italy *'' Dicranolasma ponticum'' Gruber, 1998 - Turkey *'' Dicranolasma ressli'' Gruber, 1998 - Turkey *''

Dicranolasma scabrum The Dicranolasmatidae are a family of harvestmen 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 soi ...

'' ( Herbst, 1799) -

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

*'' Dicranolasma soerenseni'' Thorell, 1876 -

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

*'' Dicranolasma thracium'' Starega, 1976 -

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

*'' Dicranolasma verhoeffi'' Dahl, 1903 -

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

References

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