Taracus marchingtoni is a genus of harvestman found in the lava caves of semi-arid and arid regions of central Oregon.[1] It belongs to the family Taracidae and was first collected by Jean and Wilton Ivie in 1965 in Lava River Cave but not identified as a new species until collected by Neil Marchington of the Oregon High Desert Grotto in 2008.[1][2] Its range is suspected to be the surrounding areas of Newberry Volcano.[1] It has enlarged but thin chelicerae, typically equal to or longer than the entire length of the body, and in small-bodied males nearly three times as long.[1] The harvestman is troglobiotic and has a predominantly white abdomen, black chelicerae, and highly reduced eye size.[1] T. marchingtoni has been observed feeding on small troglophilic millipedes identified as Plumatyla humerosa of the Conotylidae family.[1]
| Taracus marchingtoni | |
|---|---|
| |
| An adult T. marchingtoni clinging to a wall inside Lava River Cave. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Opiliones |
| Family: | Taracidae |
| Genus: | Taracus |
| Species: | T. marchingtoni
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| Binomial name | |
| Taracus marchingtoni Shear, 2016
| |
See also
edit- Trogloraptor - a cave-dwelling spider of southern Oregon
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Shear, William A.; Warfel, Joseph G. (2016-11-02). "The harvestman genus Taracus Simon 1879, and the new genus Oskoron (Opiliones: Ischyropsalidoidea: Taracidea)". Zootaxa. 4180 (1:2): 1–71. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4180.1.1. ISSN 1175-5326. PMID 27811667.
- ^ Skeels, Matt (2019-09-27). "Cave Inhabitants of Oregon". Oregon High Desert Grotto. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
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