Trogulidae
Trogulidae is a family of harvestmen comprising 65 extant species 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 from 2 to 22 mm. In most genera, the body is somewhat flattened and leathery. Adults have a small hood which hides their short chelicerae and pedipalps.
Distribution
Members of this family occur in western and southern Europe, up to western North Africa and the Levant, the Caucasus and northern Iran. Trogulus tricarinatus, a predator of terrestrial snails, has been introduced to eastern North America.Name
The derivation of the name of the type genus, Trogulus, is not fully understood. The describer Latreille wrote that he named it because it looks like a monkshood. Perrier however derived the name from the Ancient Greek trogein "gnawing", because of the rough, "gnawed-upon" appearance.Species
The known genera and species in Trogulidae as of 2023 are:Anarthrotarsus Šilhavý, 1967Anelasmocephalus Simon, 1879Calathocratus Simon, 1879Kofiniotis Roewer, 1940Trogulus Latreille, 1802See also extinct:
Plus see unknown:
- †Amphitrogulus Gourret, 1887