Gonyleptoidea is the most diverse superfamily of the

Grassatores The Grassatores are the most diverse infraorder of the Laniatores. It includes over 3,500 species distributed mainly in the tropicsKury, A.B.(2003). Annotated catalogue of the Laniatores of the New World (Arachnida, Opiliones). '' Revista Ibéri ...

. It includes around 2,500 species distributed in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

. They are characterized by the simplified male

genitalia A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...

, with the glans free subapical in the truncus. Gonyleptoidea is the only group of harvestmen to show maternal care of

offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by a single organism or, in the case of sexual reproduction, two organisms. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This ca ...

Families

Agoristenidae Agoristenidae are a neotropical harvestman family of the Suborder Laniatores, in the superfamily Gonyleptoidea. Name The name of the type genus is a combination of Ancient Greek ''agora'' "gathering" and ''stenos'' "few", referring to the rarit ...

Šilhavý, 1973 *

Cosmetidae Cosmetidae is a family of harvestmen in the suborder Laniatores. With over 700 species, it is one of the largest families in Opiliones. They are distributed from Argentina to the southern USA with the highest diversity in northern South America, ...

Koch, 1839 * Cranaidae Roewer, 1913 * Cryptogeobiiidae Kury, 2014 * Gerdesiidae Bragagnolo, Hara & Pinto-da-Rocha, 2015 *

Gonyleptidae Gonyleptidae is a neotropical family of harvestmen (Order Opiliones) with more than 800 species, the largest in the Suborder Laniatores and the second largest of the Opiliones as a whole. The largest known harvestmen are gonyleptids. Like most h ...

Sundevall, 1833 *

Manaosbiidae The Manaosbiidae are a family of neotropical harvestmen within the suborder Laniatores. Name The name of the type genus is combined from Manaus and Ancient Greek ''bios'' "living". (2007): Manaosbiidae. Roewer, 1943. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al. ...

Roewer, 1943 * Metasarcidae Kury, 1994 * Otilioleptidae Acosta, 2019 *

Stygnidae The Stygnidae are a family of neotropical harvestmen within the suborder Laniatores. Name The name of the type genus is derived from Ancient Greek ''stygnos'' "diabolic being". (2007): Stygnidae Simon, 1879. In: Pinto-da-Rocha ''et al.'' 2007: 2 ...

Simon, 1879 The following families were transferred to superfamily Assamioidea: * Assamiidae Sørensen, 1884 * Stygnopsidae Sørensen, 1932

References

Harvestmen Arachnid superfamilies {{Opiliones-stub