List of pseudoscorpions of Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about 2 million species of arthropods found in the world, and still it is counting. So many new species are discover up to this time also. So it is very complicated and difficult to summarize the exact number of species found within a certain region.

Contents

The following list provide the pseudoscorpions in Sri Lanka.

Scorpions

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Pseudoscorpiones

Pseudoscorpions also known as false scorpion or book scorpion, are easily identified by flat, pear-shaped body and scorpion-like pincers. There are about 3,300 species of scorpions described within 6 superfamilies and 430 genera. The studies on pseudoscorpions of Sri Lanka dated back to 1913 with the contributions of Ellingsen, who described Olpium jacobsoni. In 1930, Chamberlain described two pseudoscorpions, whereas Max Beier described Paratemnus ceylonicus in 1932. However, the first extensive study on pseudoscorpions were carried out by C. Besuchet and I. Löbl in 1970. In 1973, Beier described 16 new species, with one new genus. Beier is thus cited as the first person to make a checklist on Sri Lankan pseudoscorpions. [1]

With thirty years of war in northern region, the diversity of fauna in northern and eastern regions reduced in greater extent. In 2011, Mark S. Harvey et al described new synonyms and genera for pseudoscorpions. [2] The following list of pseudoscorpions of Sri Lanka compiled according to the 2014 survey by Sudesh Batuwita and Suresh P. Benjamin. According to them, Sri Lanka consists 47 species with 20 endemic species, which included to 15 genera. [3]

Family: Chthoniidae

Family: Pseudotyrannochthoniidae

Family: Feaellidae

Family: Hyidae

Family: Ideoroncidae

Family: Syarinidae

Family: Garypidae

Family: Geogarypidae

Family: Olpiidae

Family: Sternophoridae

Family: Cheiridiidae

Family: Atemnidae

Family: Cheliferidae

Family: Chernetidae

Family: Withiidae

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudoscorpion</span> Order of arachnids

Pseudoscorpions, also known as false scorpions or book scorpions, are small, scorpion-like arachnids belonging to the order Pseudoscorpiones, also known as Pseudoscorpionida or Chelonethida.

Menthidae is a family of pseudoscorpions, first described by Joseph Conrad Chamberlin in 1930.

The wildlife of Sri Lanka includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of biological endemism.

Atemnidae is a family of pseudoscorpions, first described by Kyukichi Kishida in 1929.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Henderickx</span>

Hans Henderickx (1961–2016) was a Belgian entomologist specializing in Invertebrates born in Mol, Belgium.

<i>Garypus</i> Genus of pseudoscorpions

Garypus is a genus of pseudoscorpions in the family Garypidae. It was described by German arachnologist Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1873. The species are found mainly in tropical and subtropical areas, where they occupy supralittoral and littoral zones in seashore habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheliferidae</span> Family of pseudoscorpions

Cheliferidae is a family of pseudoscorpions in the order Pseudoscorpiones, first described by Antoine Risso in 1827.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syarinidae</span> Family of pseudoscorpions

Syarinidae is a family of pseudoscorpions in the order Pseudoscorpiones. There are at least 20 genera and 110 described species in Syarinidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Withiidae</span>

Withiidae is a family of pseudoscorpions, first described by Joseph Conrad Chamberlin in 1931.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudotyrannochthoniidae</span>

Pseudotyrannochthoniidae is a family of pseudoscorpions, belonging to the superfamily Chthonioidea. It represents the most basal and primitive group of living pseudoscorpions, with less than 100 species in 6 genera. Living members of the group have a strongly disjunct distribution, likely reflecting ancient vicariance, occurring in Australia, Asia, Southern Africa and Madagascar, Western North America and southern South America. Fossils species are known from the Eocene Baltic and Bitterfeld amber, which represent members of extant Asian genera.

Lagynochthonius is a genus of pseudoscorpions in the family Chthoniidae. It was described in 1951 by Austrian arachnologist Max Beier.

Ideoblothrus is a genus of pseudoscorpions in the Syarinidae family. It was described in 1892 by Italian naturalist Luigi Balzan as a subgenus of Ideobisium.

<i>Geogarypus</i> Genus of pseudoscorpions

Geogarypus is a genus of pseudoscorpions in the Geogarypidae family. It was described in 1930 by American arachnologist Joseph Conrad Chamberlin. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution.

References

  1. ↑ Batuwita, S; Benjamin, SP (2014). "An annotated checklist and a family key to the pseudoscorpion fauna (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) of Sri Lanka". Zootaxa (3814): 37–67. PMID   24943412.
  2. ↑ Harvey, Mark S.; Ratnaweera, Pamoda B.; Udagama, Preethi V.; Wijesinghe, Mayuri R. (2012). "A new species of the pseudoscorpion genus Megachernes (Pseudoscorpiones: Chernetidae) associated with a threatened Sri Lankan rainforest rodent, with a review of host associations of Megachernes". Journal of Natural History. 46 (41–42): 2519–2535. doi:10.1080/00222933.2012.707251.
  3. ↑ "An annotated checklist and a family key to the pseudoscorpion fauna". Research Gate. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
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