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harvestman

Photo by Scott Frazier
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

Sometimes also called "daddy-longlegs", harvestman "spiders" are in their own separate order Opiliones (spiders are in the order Araneae). They have
one basic body segment which shows segmentation on the posterior portion, at most 2 eyes and all 8 legs attach to the pill-like body segment.

Habitat:

Spotted along a fossil beach strand in lowland equatorial rainforest.

Notes:

These arachnids make their living by eating decomposing vegetative and animal matter although are opportunist predators if they can get away with it. They do not have venom glands, fangs or any other mechanism for chemically subduing their food. http://spiders.ucr.edu/daddylonglegs.html They have scent glands with ducts to the outside above the bases of the legs (first or second coxae). These glands produce a smelly fluid which may be the reason for the common belief that they are poisonous. No scientific literature verifies that claim. http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/cimg369.html

Species ID Suggestions

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Photographed
PublishedDecember 26, 2011

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