Laniatores

Laniatores; Temporal range: Cretaceous–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
	Pellobunus insularis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Opiliones
Suborder:	Laniatores; Thorell, 1876
Superfamilies
	Travunioidea; Triaenonychoidea; Assamioidea; Epedanoidea; Phalangodoidea; Samooidea; Sandokanoidea; Zalmoxoidea; Gonyleptoidea

Laniatores is the largest suborder of the arachnid order Opiliones with over 4,200 described species worldwide. The majority of the species are highly dependent on humid environments and usually correlated with tropical and temperate forest habitats.

Laniatores are typically (relatively) short-legged, hard-plated, spiny Opiliones, common under logs and stones, in

leaf litter and in caves. They often have spiny pedipalps and paired or branched claws on the third and fourth pairs of legs.^[1]

The largest family is

Neotropics

, with over 800 valid species and showing many cases of maternal and paternal care.

Identification

The

pedipalpus is usually robust and armed with strong spines. The ovipositor is short and unsegmented (derived character state shared with the Dyspnoi). The penis is complex, with many sclerites. Some of the sclerites are movable, with a single penial muscle present. For the most part, the penis is without muscles, instead working by hemolymph

pressure.

Subtaxa

Infraorder "
diphyletic
)
Superfamily Travunioidea Absolon & Kratochvil, 1932

Superfamily Triaenonychoidea Sørensen, 1886
Infraorder Grassatores Kury, 2002
- Superfamily Assamioidea Sørensen, 1884
- Superfamily Epedanoidea Sørensen, 1886
- Superfamily Gonyleptoidea Sundevall, 1833
- Superfamily Phalangodoidea Simon, 1879
- Superfamily Samooidea Sørensen, 1886
- Superfamily
  Sandokanoidea
  Özdikmen & Kury, 2007
- Superfamily Zalmoxoidea Sørensen, 1886

Definitions and limits of superfamilies are still in a state of flux. The largest by far is the Gonyleptoidea, with over 2,000 described species.

Geographic distribution

Distribution of subunits of Laniatores is very interesting from the biogeographic point of view. The Travunioidea are typical of northern temperate regions while the Triaenonychoidea make their counterpart in the southern temperate regions. The other superfamilies are tropical, with many noteworthy endemisms and transcontinental relationships.

Footnotes

^ Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 17

References

Pinto-da-Rocha, R., Machado, G. & Giribet, G. (eds.) (2007): Harvestmen - The Biology of Opiliones. Harvard University Press
ISBN 0-674-02343-9

[1] Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 17

[1]