The world of arachnids is very diverse, because in addition to the real spiders (order Araneidos) it includes other small animals, such as the opiliones or “spiders”These peculiar animals normally live in humid places, feed on plants and are characterized by having their eight legs longer than a typical spider. In addition, they have a smaller body where, at first glance, only a single piece can be seen. Many of us tend to believe that they are dangerous arachnids, but we will see that there is no danger if we meet these small animals.
What are opiliones?
These huge-legged animals, also known as reapers or reaper spiders, belong to the order Opiliones, included in the class of arachnids. If we see them in the wild we tend to call them spiders due to their similar structure to real spiders. However, the latter belong to the order Araneids and we should not confuse them, since in terms of danger, habitat, feeding and morphology they can be quite different.
Opiliones can have a very diverse diet, since they can feed on animal carrion, be predators or consume vegetable matter. In fact, most of these animals are phytophagous and normally live in humid regions, such as some mosses, leaf litter and under stones. It is also not uncommon to find them in a corner of the house or in storage rooms where humidity predominates.
Opiliones characteristics
Patona spiders are distinguished from other orders of arachnids, such as the order Mites (includes ticks) or the order Araneids (includes tarantulas), because they have a series ofcharacteristics identifiers:
- They do not have the ability to form images, so they only distinguish between light and dark. This makes them use their sense of smell mainly to obtain information from the environment.
- Except for certain species, which reproduce by facultative parthenogenesis, most exhibit sexual reproduction with a copulatory organ.
- The females expel the eggs quickly after copulation or after a few months, taking them to hatch around 20 or 150 days.
- They consist of a breathing through the trachea.
- Its body is divided into two tagmas: the prosoma and the opisthosoma, which are joined, although at first glance these two segments cannot be easily differentiated, as is the case in spiders. Covering the prosoma is a shell with a protuberance on which the eyes are housed. Despite the morphological differences that exist between different species of opiliones, they all follow this similar pattern.
- They have a pair of preoral chelicerae or small appendages ending in pincers. The chelicerae are used to attack their prey and/or possible predators, so they are found in front of the mouth.
- They have small leg-like structures called pedipalps. They mainly have touch function.
- Its eight legs are very long, although certain species may have shorter legs.
Are pantyhose spiders poisonous?
Due to their appearance we tend to think that these animals are poisonous and wrongly, after the sensation of panic on some occasions, man ends up exterminating them. However, unlike true spiders, harvestmen do not have venom-secreting glands on their chelicerae. Therefore, if we come across this animal at some point, we can be calm since Papanos spiders are not dangerous
Types of Patona Spiders
The order Opiliones is made up of different suborders. In this way, four types of patonas spiders: can be distinguished:
- Cyphophthalmi: this suborder is made up of six families and a total of 195 species of harvestmen. They are characterized by being very small animals and have shorter legs than most common spiders. They can be found on all continents except Asia. An example is the species Paramiopsalis ramulosuss, with orange-brown tones.
- Laniatores: is made up of 30 families. The opiliones of this suborder are characterized by also having shorter legs than the rest, as well as protuberances and spiny structures on the exoskeleton. A species belonging to this order is Maiorerus randoi.
- Dyspnoi: made up of eight families of harvestmen and 355 different species, which are usually found in regions with a temperate climate. They are the largest opiliones and have considerably long legs. Ischyropsalis cantabrica belongs to this suborder, with dark colors.
- Eupnoi: it is made up of six families and a total of 1,820 species, among which Homalenotus quadridentatus stands out, with an apparently flatter body. They have striking spines on the pedipalps, eight large legs and very protruding eyes. Like the species of the suborder Dyspnoi, they are mainly found in temperate climate regions.
Examples of opiliones or opiliones
There are many species of harvestmen, the most abundant being those belonging to the Eupnoi suborder, since it consists of 1,820 known species. Even though their morphology is quite similar, we can see some differences between them. Here are some examples of harvestmen species
Iberosiro rosae (Suborder Cyphophthalmi)
It is one of the smallest harvestmen in existence, not exceeding 3 millimeters in length. In addition, it has an oval body, sclerotized and with shorter legs than most groups of harvestmen. In fact, it is a species that is often confused with mites due to their similar appearance. As for its coloration, it can be variable, but it normally has orange colorations.
Paramiopsalis ramulosus (Suborder Cyphophthalmi)
These harvestmen are also small in size and tend to resemble mites. You can see how their eight legs have a kind of claw at the end and a remarkable segmentation of the opisthosoma They are harvestmen that lack vision, so they use other senses such as smell for the search for food. Unlike other opiliones, the males of this species are characterized by having a small, membranous penis.
Ischyropsalis hispánica (Suborder Dyspnoi)
They are larger harvestmen, as they can measure 10 millimeters in length In addition, they are characterized by having someLarge black chelicerae along with striking, very elongated legs. Its body also has dark colors (brown-black) and thin pedipalps with yellowish tones can be easily distinguished. The Ischyropsalis hispánica species is more similar in appearance to true spiders than other types of harvestmen.
Phalangium opilio (Suborder Eupnoi)
These opiliones, reaper spiders or patonas have a body that can be seen as a single structure and small in size compared to its eight legs, which are surprisingly longer than those of other big-footed spiders. Its body is more globular than that of other groups and, in terms of its coloration, brown colors predominate. When faced with the threat of a predator, they tend to secrete a liquid to scare away the danger
Bunochelis spinifera (Suborder Eupnoi)
It is similar to the previous harvestman species. It has a body with dark brown tones although, occasionally, a mixture of lighter colors or whites can be observed. Its legs are very long and brown, as are its chelicerae, which have a black end. Both females and males of this species look quite similar, however, the latter have a small hump on the first segment of the chelicerae.
Nemastomella dentipatellae (Suborder Dyspnoi)
This species of Patona spider is small in size and is mainly characterized by the presence of a set of protruding projections on the dorsal part from his body. Its coloration is generally dark, but it can present some lighter spots on the back with yellowish-golden tones. In addition, it has large pedipalps and very long black legs in proportion to its body.
Nemastomella hankiewiczii (Suborder Dyspnoi)
These harvestmen share some characteristics with the previous species, such as body size and the presence of a chelicerae apophysis. However, Nemastomella hankiewiczii has a more flattened and completely black body. In addition, it lacks the dorsal rod-like projections and has apparently shorter legs than Nemastomella dentipatellae.
Dicranopalpus pulchellus (Suborder Eupnoi)
It is characterized by having quite long legs in relation to its body and a greyish-yellowish body color with some darker spots of brown color that distinguishes it from other opiliones. In addition, the females of this species are larger than the males, and can measure up to 5 or 6 millimeters, since their abdomen is longer than it is wide in this case.
Metaphalangium cirtanum (Suborder Eupnoi)
Individuals of this species have a flatter dorsoventral area than other groups of harvestmen and amazingly long legs. It should be noted that in the region of the prosoma and in all its extremities they have a set of projections like small spines that distinguishes them from other species. In addition, they have a peculiar coloration, since their bodies are reddish-brown with a large brown spot on the anterior area. Some specimens also show a well-marked white line.
Odiellus Carpetanus (Suborder Eupnoi)
What makes this species different from the rest of opiliones or pantone spiders is its striking trident on the edge of its cephalothorax These animals they have a small body and lack excessively long legs. Differences can be established between the male and the female, since the latter has a more prominent opisthosoma and a more subdued coloration. In general, they are opiliones with brown and gray tones with very characteristic almost black spots.
Other examples of opiliones or patonas spiders
The list of Patona spider species is very extensive. In addition to the species already described, we can highlight many other opiliones species such as the following.
- Odiellus simplicipes
- Roeweritta carpentieri
- Megabunus diadema
- Cosmobunus granarius
- Gyas titanus
- Homalenotus laranderas
- Homalenotus quadridentatus
- Leiobunum blackwalli
- Hadziana clavigera
- Amilenus aurantiacus
