The Neopilionidae are a family of harvestmen.

Neopilionidae
Pantopsalis listeri
Scientific classification
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Neopilionidae

Lawrence, 1931
Diversity
19 genera, 78 species

It has a clearly Gondwanan distribution, with species found in Australia, South Africa and South America, and probably represent relicts of that time.

The family members range in size from the small Americovibone lancafrancoae (0.9 mm) to over 4 mm in the Enantiobuninae.[1]

Some species of Enantiobuninae have blue pigmentation, which is rather unusual in harvestmen.[1]

The former family "Monoscutidae" has recently been subsumed within the subfamily Enantiobuninae.[2]

Name

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The family name is a contraction of Ancient Greek neo "new" and Latin Opilio, a genus of harvestman.

Subdivisions

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According to the Catalogue of Life, Neopilionidae includes three subfamilies, which contain a total of 19 genera and 78 species.[3]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b Cokendolpher, James C. (2007): Neopilionidae Lawrence, 1931. In: Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 121ff
  2. ^ Taylor, C.K. 2011. Revision of the genus Megalopsalis (Arachnida: Opiliones: Phalangioidea) in Australia and New Zealand and implications for phalangioid classification. Zootaxa 2773: 1–65.
  3. ^ "Neopilionidae Lawrence, 1931 | COL". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2021-11-11.

References

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