Megabunus diadema

Megabunus diadema is a species of harvestman widely distributed in Europe, where it has been found in Iceland, Faroe Islands, Western Norway, Great Britain, Western France, Belgium and Northern Spain.[1]

Megabunus diadema
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Arachnida
Order:
Opiliones
Suborder:
Eupnoi
Family:
Phalangiidae
Genus:
Megabunus
Species:
M. diadema
Binomial name
Megabunus diadema
(Fabricius, 1779)
Synonyms

Phalangium diadema

It is commonly found among moss and lichens, and has a cryptic coloration that blends with this habitat, rendering it almost invisible when it is not moving.[2] Its second pair of legs is as long as 35 mm.[3] Its prominent pair of eyes is equipped with a spiny "crown".

M. diadema was shown to feed on chironomid flies.[4]

The gregarines Actinocephalus megabuni and Doliospora repelini (Eugregarinorida), and the mite Leptus beroni were found to parasitize on this species.[5]

During a study of woodland in Scotland, they were found to be most active during March, June to July and December; in montane regions of Wales they only occurred in August, while they were found all year round in English woodland, with a peak from May to August.[6]

The mainly parthenogenetic[1] M. diadema lays three batches of eggs per year, with about 30 eggs per batch that are deposited among leaf litter or on the soil.[7] The larvae, like many in the suborder Eupnoi, have an egg tooth.[8]

Males have 28 chromosomes.[9]

Footnotes
  1. Stol 2005
  2. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 375
  3. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 494
  4. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 312
  5. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 342,344
  6. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 289
  7. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 431
  8. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 464
  9. Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 268
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References
  • Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog: Phalangiidae
  • Stol, Ingvar (2005): Ecology and body size of the parthenogenetic Megabunus diadema (Fabricius, 1779) (Opiliones: Phalangiidae) at Karmøy, Western Norway. Fauna Norvegica 25: 39-44. Abstract
  • Pinto-da-Rocha, R., Machado, G. & Giribet, G. (eds.) (2007): Harvestmen - The Biology of Opiliones. Harvard University Press ISBN 0-674-02343-9
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