Suborder Laniatores Order Harvestmen | Superfamily Triaenonychoidea Rank Family | |
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Similar Harvestmen, Travuniidae, Laniatores, Phalangodidae, Caddidae | ||
The Triaenonychidae are a family of harvestmen with about 120 genera and more than 440 described species.
Contents
Description
Most Triaenonychidae are from three to five millimeters long, although some species from South Africa can be only 1 millimetre (0.039 in) long. Some species in the subfamily Adaeinae are almost 10 mm (0.39 in) long. Legs are almost always short, measuring 4–12 mm (0.16–0.47 in). The armed pedipalps are large, and much stronger than the legs.
Distribution
Triaenonychidae are found in North and South America, Japan and Korea, Australia and New Zealand, and Madagascar.
Relationships
The Triaenonychidae should probably split into at least two families. The genera from the Australian region are considered Triaenonychidae sensu stricto, and may include the strange Synthetonychiidae; the northern species should be grouped with Travuniidae.
Name
The name of the type genus Triaenonyx is combined from Ancient Greek τρίαινα (triaina, "trident, fish spear") and ὄνυξ (onyx, "claw").
Genera
The following genera are included in the family: