Harvestmen,
Opiliones, of the suborder Laniatores are an
extremely diverse group of small predatory Arachnids noted for a high
level of endemism (i.e. most species have extremely limited ranges).
There are currently around 4100 described species, but this is likely
to be a severe underestimate, as the group are not well studied and
populations of similar Harvestmen at even nearby locations often turn
out to be different species. The genus Cryptomaster
was erected in 1969 to describe a single large species of Harvestman
from the forests of southwest Oregon, Cryptomaster
leviathan,
which was found dwelling under spruce bark in virgin forest to the
south of the town of Gold Beach in Curry County.
In
a paper published in the journal ZooKeys on 20 January 2016, James
Starrett of the Department of Biology at San Diego State University,
Shahan Derkarabetian and Casey Richart of the Department of Biology
at San Diego State University and the Department of Biology at the
University of California, Riverside, and Allan Cabrero and Marshal Hedin also of the Department of Biology at San Diego State
University, describe a new species of Cryptomaster
from
Oregon.
The
new species is named Cryptomaster
behemoth,
in reference to Behemoth, a large monster mentioned in the Book of
Job (the single previously decscribed species in the genus was named
Cryptomaster leviathan,
in reference to another such moster from the Book of Job). This
species was found at a number of locations, though all were within
Lane County, to the east of Eugene in the Cascade Mountains, from
Brice Creek in the south to the Mckenzie River in the north.
This is to the northeast of the known distribution of Cryptomaster
leviathan,
with no known specimen of either species found at a site producing
the other. This suggests a very limited range for both species
(typical of Laniatorine Harvestmen), though both species seemed to be
fairly abundant within their ranges.
Cryptomaster
dorsal coloration. (A) Male Cryptomaster leviathan. (B)
Male Cryptomastern behemoth. (C) Female Cryptomaster
leviathan. (D) Female Cryptomaster behemoth.
Scale bars are 1 mm. Starrett et al. (2016).
See
also...
Cyphophthalmus solentiensis: A new species of Mite Harvestman from the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. Mite Harvestmen, Cyphophthalmi, are a distinctive group of Harvestmen,
Opiliones, which are thought to...
Iandumoema smeagol: A new species of Harvestman from caves in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Harvestmen, Opiliones,
are carnivorous Arachnids resembling Spiders, though they are not
closely related and are incapable of producing silk...
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