Megabunus

Megabunus
Megabunus diadema
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Opiliones
Family: Phalangiidae
Genus: Megabunus
Meade, 1855
Type species
Megabunus insignis
Meade, 1855
Species

See text.

Diversity
6 species

Megabunus is a genus of harvestmen in the family Phalangiidae.[1][2] All occur in Europe, mostly in the vicinity of the Alps.[2]

In Megabunus, the pedipalps are armed with strong ventral spines, especially on the femur, probably to hold fast to prey.[3]

Name

The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek mega "big" and -bunus, which is a common ending for certain opilionid genera.

Species

There are eleven recognized species:[1][2]

  • Megabunus armatus (Kulczyński, 1887) (Tirols, Slovenia)
  • Megabunus bergomas Chemini, 1985 (Italy)
  • Megabunus coelodonta Muster & Steiner, 2015 (Western Alps)
  • Megabunus cryptobergomas Muster & Wachter, 2015 (Northern Italy)
  • Megabunus diadema (Fabricius, 1779) (Western Europe)
  • Megabunus hadzii (Kratochvíl, 1935)
  • Megabunus lentipes Muster & Komposch, 2015 (Western Alps)
  • Megabunus lesserti Schenkel, 1927 (Germany, Austria, Switzerland; possibly a variation of M. armatus)
  • Megabunus pifkoi Murányi, 2008
  • Megabunus rhinoceros (Canestrini, 1872) (Swiss Alps)
  • Megabunus vignai Martens, 1978 (Italy)

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "Megabunus Meade, 1855". Catalogue of Life. Species 2000: Leiden, the Netherlands. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Wachter, Gregor A.; Muster, Christoph; Arthofer, Wolfgang; Raspotnig, Günther; Föttinger, Petra; Komposch, Christian; Steiner, Florian M.; Schlick‐Steiner, Birgit C. (2015). "Taking the discovery approach in integrative taxonomy: decrypting a complex of narrow‐endemic Alpine harvestmen (Opiliones: Phalangiidae: Megabunus)". Molecular Ecology. 24 (4): 863–889. doi:10.1111/mec.13077.
  3. ^ Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 327

References

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

Further reading

  • Martens, Jochen (1978): Spinnentiere, Arachnida, Weberknechte, Opiliones, ser. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands (Dahl,Friedrich ed.), vol. 64. VEB Gustav Fischer Verlag, Jena


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