Opiliones (Lotz, 2009)

Haddad, Charles, Prendini, Lorenzo, Neethling, Jan-Andries & Dippenaar-Schoeman, Anna Sophia, 2023, The non-acarine Arachnida of the Amathole Mountains, South Africa, Bothalia (a 13) 53 (1), pp. 1-33 : 10-11

Opiliones (harvestmen)

In total, 41 species representing 16 genera and four families of harvestmen have been collected in the Amathole Mountains ( Table 1; Supplementary Table 1). Consistent with overall patterns in southern Africa ( Lotz 2009), the most genus- and species-rich family is Triaenonychidae , followed by Phalangiidae . Most harvestmen sampled are associated with leaf litter, but species of Rhampsinitus Simon, 1879 ( Figure 6A, B )

and Biantidae occasionally wander onto the foliage of grasses, herbs and shrubs, where they may be collected by sweeping or beating vegetation. Triaenonychids are mainly slow-moving cryptic species that blend in with the colour of the soil and litter ( Figure 6C ).

Surprisingly,harvestmen appear to be minimally impact- ed by silviculture (pines and Eucalyptus ) near Hogsback and were more abundant there than in the indigenous forests. Preliminary indications suggest that harvestmen would be an ideal candidate taxon to include in studies evaluating the effects of silviculture on different animal groups, particularly given their high abundance in forest habitats, exceptionally high species richness in the Amathole Mountains (Supplementary Table 1), and the restricted ranges of many of the species ( Lotz 2009).

Figures

Figure 6. Selected harvestmen and scorpions from the Amathole Mountains, Eastern Cape, South Africa; A, Rhampsinitus sp., male (Phalangiidae);B, Rhampsinitus aff.silvaticus, female (Phalangiidae); C, possible Adaeum sp., female (Triaenonychidae);D, Parabuthus planicauda, female (Buthidae); E, Uroplectes formosus, female (Buthidae); F, Uroplectes triangulifer, male (Buthidae); G, Hadogenes trichiurus, juvenile (Hormuridae); H, Opistacanthus validus, male (Hormuridae); I, Opistophthalmus latimanus, female (Scorpionidae). Photos: A–C, G, H, C. Haddad; D, C. Hobson; E, I, S. Christie; F, G. Diedericks.