Sabacon

Sabacon is a genus of the harvestman family Sabaconidae with about forty species.

Sabacon Temporal range: Palaeogene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
S. cavicolens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Opiliones
Suborder:	Dyspnoi
Superfamily:	Ischyropsalidoidea
Family:	Sabaconidae
Genus:	Sabacon Simon, 1879
Type species
Sabacon paradoxum Simon, 1879
Species
Sabacon cavicolens Sabacon paradoxum others, see text
Diversity
c. 40 species

Species of this genus have usually thickened pedipalps with stiff, fine hairs, which is unique among harvestmen. Although the small eye tubercle is usually not ornamented, there is a spine on one Nepalese species. Males have long, thin legs, females are stouter.[1]

The genus is widespread in the temperate northern hemisphere, even extending into the subarctic, with the most southern records from caves in the southeastern United States and high elevations in Nepal. The center of diversification seems to be in Asia, where many species were described from Japan, Korea and Nepal. Some species occur in Europe.[1]

While the Asian and North American species are easy to differententiate from one another by male genital traits, the few European species are very similar, and seem to be closely related to S. cavicolens. S. mitchelli, which, like the larger S. cavicolens, occurs in the eastern US, is quite different from the latter, with males lacking cheliceral glands. Species from the western US seem most closely related to Asian forms. S. astoriensis is very similar to S. dentipalpe and S. makinoi; it was collected from dried seaweed and debris in beach dunes.[1]

Almost all Sabacon species prefer moist, cool microhabitats, and many species live in caves, but none are modified for cave life. Outside of caves they are often found in forests or shaded ravines.[1]

Species

• Sabacon akiyoshiense Suzuki, 1963
• Sabacon altomontanum Martens, 1983 (France)
• Sabacon astoriensis Shear, 1975 (Oregon)
• † Sabacon bachofeni Roewer, 1939 (fossil: Baltic amber)
• Sabacon briggsi Shear, 1975 (California)
• Sabacon bryantii (Banks, 1898) (southeastern coastal Alaska)
• Sabacon cavicolens (Packard, 1884) (eastern US)
• Sabacon chomolongmae Martens, 1972
• Sabacon crassipalpe (L. Koch, 1879) (Siberia, North America)
• Sabacon dentipalpe Suzuki, 1949 (Japan)
• Sabacon dhaulagiri Martens, 1972
• Sabacon distinctum Suzuki, 1974
• Sabacon franzi Roewer, 1953
• Sabacon gonggashan Tsurusaki & Song, 1993 (Sichuan)
• Sabacon imamurai Suzuki, 1964
• Sabacon iriei Suzuki, 1974
• Sabacon ishizuchi Suzuki, 1974
• Sabacon jiriensis Martens, 1972
• Sabacon jonesi Goodnight & Goodnight, 1942 (Alabama)
• Sabacon makinoi Suzuki, 1949 (Japan)

• Sabacon makinoi makinoi Suzuki, 1949
• Sabacon makinoi sugimotoi Suzuki & Tsurusaki, 1983

• Sabacon martensi Tsurusaki & Song, 1993 (Sichuan)
• Sabacon mitchelli Crosby & Bishop, 1924 (North Carolina)
• Sabacon okadai Suzuki, 1941
• Sabacon palpogranulatum Martens, 1972
• Sabacon paradoxum Simon, 1879 (Pyrenees)
• Sabacon pasonianum Glez-Luque, 1991 (cave in Spain)
• Sabacon pectiginosa Simon, 1913 (Spain)
• Sabacon picosantrum Martens, 1983 (Spain)
• Sabacon pygmaeum Miyosi, 1942 (Japan)
• Sabacon relictum Marten, 1972
• Sabacon robusta Simon, 1873 (Spain)
• Sabacon satoikioi Miyosi, 1942
• Sabacon sergeidedicatum Martens, 1989 (Siberia)
• Sabacon sheari Cokendolpher, 1984 (Oregon)
• Sabacon simoni Dresco, 1952
• Sabacon siskiyou Shear, 1975 (California, Oregon)
• Sabacon unicornis Martens, 1972
• Sabacon viscayanum Simon, 1881

• Sabacon viscayanum ramblaianum Martens, 1983 (France)
• Sabacon viscayanum viscayanum Simon, 1881

Footnotes

1. Shear 1975

References

• Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog: Sabaconidae
• Shear, William A. (1975): The Opilionid Genera Sabacon and Tomicomerus in America (Opiliones, Troguloidea, Ischyropsalidae). Journal of Arachnology 3(1): 5-29. PDF (with description of S. cavicolens, S. mitchelli, S. occidentalis, S. siskiyou, S. astoriensis S. briggsi, S. bryantii)