Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Draculoides bramstokeri

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Family
  
Hubbardiidae

Scientific name
  
Draculoides bramstokeri

Higher classification
  
Draculoides

Order
  
Schizomida

Subphylum
  
Chelicerata

Genus
  
Draculoides

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Rank
  
Species

Draculoides bramstokeri httpsreadersforumfileswordpresscom201109d

Similar
  
Arthurdactylus, Aegrotocatellus, Pheidole harrisonfordi, Schizomida, Bill Gates' flower fly

Draculoides bramstokeri is a small, troglobite, Australian arachnid. Often mistaken for a spider, D. bramstokeri is a schizomid — a small, soil-dwelling invertebrate that walks on six legs and uses two modified front legs as feelers. It uses large fang-like pedipalps, or pincers, to grasp invertebrate prey and crunch it into pieces before sucking out the juices. Named for this method of dispatching victims and after Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula.

The species is light yellow or brown, 5 mm long and known to inhabit six caves on Barrow Island and two on the North West Cape in Western Australia. It is threatened by pollution and damage to caves and is vulnerable to extinction. Draculoides bramstokeri was first described in 1995.

The other three described species of Draculoides also occur in Australia.

References

Draculoides bramstokeri Wikipedia