''Marachernes bellus'' is a
species of
pseudoscorpion in the
Chernetidae family. It is
endemic to Australia. It was
described in 1992 by Australian
arachnologist 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 ...
. The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''bellus'' (
Latin: 'pretty' or 'lovely') refers to the species’ beauty.
Description
The body length of males is 2.74–3.14 mm; that of females 2.99–3.34 mm. The colour is mainly yellow-brown, with the
carapace
A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...
,
pedipalps and legs dark red-brown.
Distribution and habitat
The species occurs in south-western
Victoria and in
Tasmania. The
type locality
Type locality may refer to:
* Type locality (biology)
* Type locality (geology)
See also
* Local (disambiguation)
* Locality (disambiguation)
{{disambiguation ...
is Separation Creek in the
Otway Ranges, where the pseudoscorpions were found beneath
eucalypt bark in association with
colonies of ''
Iridomyrmex'' ants.
Behaviour
The pseudoscorpions are
terrestrial predators.
References
Chernetidae
Endemic fauna of Australia
Pseudoscorpions of Australia
Arthropods of Tasmania
Arthropods of Victoria (state)
Animals described in 1992
Taxa named by Mark Harvey
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