| Podoctidae Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Undescribed Lomanius from the Philippines | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Opiliones |
| Suborder: | Laniatores |
| Infraorder: | Grassatores |
| Superfamily: | Samooidea |
| Family: | Podoctidae Roewer, 1912 |
| Genera | |
See text for list | |
| Diversity | |
| c. 60 genera, c. 130 species | |
Podoctidae is a family of the harvestman infraorder Grassatores with about 130 described species. [1]
Body length ranges from 2.5 to 5 millimeters, with leg length ranging from three to almost thirty mm. While most species are brown to yellow, some are deep green. The legs may be ringed in black and yellow. The penis is uniquely built. [1]
Most species occur in Southeast Asia, especially in New Guinea. Others are found in Melanesia, Micronesia, Japan, India and Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Mauritius, and central Africa. Ibantila cubana was introduced in a botanical garden in Cuba. Although one Podoctidae was described from Brazil in 1938, it was later transferred to Triaenonychidae. [1] The oldest known member of the family is Burmalomanius from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber of Myanmar. [2]
Although Podoctidae are currently included in Samooidea, and are surely Grassatores, there is no obvious relationship with any family. [1]
The name of the type genus is derived from Ancient Greek podos "foot" and oktis "spine", referring to the ventral row of long spines in femur I. [1]
Myrmarachne is a genus of ant-mimicking jumping spiders that was first described by W. S. MacLeay in 1839. They are commonly called ant-mimicking spiders, but they are not the only spiders that have this attribute. The name is a combination of Ancient Greek μύρμηξ, meaning "ant", and ἀράχνη, meaning "spider".
Gasteracantha is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first named by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. Species of the genus are known as spiny-backed orb-weavers, spiny orb-weavers, or spiny spiders. The females of most species are brightly colored with six prominent spines on their broad, hardened, shell-like abdomens. The name Gasteracantha is derived from the Greek gaster (γαστήρ), meaning "belly, abdomen", and akantha (άκανθα), meaning "thorn, spine". Spiny-backed orb-weavers are sometimes colloquially called "crab spiders" because of their shape, but they are not closely related to the true crab spiders. Other colloquial names for certain species include thorn spider, star spider, kite spider, or jewel spider.
Telamonia is a genus of jumping spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1887. They are colorful spiders, with patterns that vary considerably between sexes and species. Two longitudinal stripes along the abdomen are common, and the carapace is often colored. They have a slender opisthosoma and long legs.
Heteropoda is a genus of spiders in the family Sparassidae, the huntsman spiders. They are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia, while at least one species, H. venatoria, has a cosmopolitan distribution, and H. variegata occurs in the Mediterranean.
Samooidea is a large superfamily in the Grassatores group of harvestmen. It includes around 380 species distributed throughout the tropics. They are characterized by the complex male genitalia, with eversible complementary sclerites.
The Phalangodidae are a family of harvestmen with about 30 genera and more than 100 described species, distributed in the Holarctic region.
The Sclerosomatidae are a family of harvestmen with about 1,300 known species. One former subfamily has been recently removed to form a new family, Globipedidae.
Epedanidae is a family of the harvestman infraorder Grassatores with about 200 described species. They are the sister group of the Gonyleptoidea.
Sandokanidae is a family of harvestmen in the suborder Laniatores, formerly referred to as Oncopodidae
Stygnommatidae is a small neotropical family of the harvestman infraorder Grassatores with about thirty described species.
Samoidae is a family of the harvestman infraorder Grassatores with about fifty described species.
Biantidae is a family of the harvestman infraorder Grassatores with about 130 described species.
Zalmoxis is a genus of harvestmen, within the Zalmoxidae family. They are found in tropical Australia, Borneo, New Guinea, the Philippines and on Pacific islands.