Sabacon
Encyclopedia
Sabacon is a genus
of the harvestman family Sabaconidae
with about forty species.
Species of this genus have usually thickened pedipalp
s 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.
The genus is widespread in the temperate northern hemisphere, even extending into the subarctic, with the most southern records from caves in the southeastern USA 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
.
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.
Almost all Sabacon species prefer moist, cool microhabitats, and many species live in cave
s, but none are modified for cave life. Outside of caves they are often found in forests or shaded ravine
s.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of the harvestman family Sabaconidae
Sabaconidae
The Sabaconidae are a family of harvestmen with about 50 known species.The species range in body length from 1.2 to 5.5 mm. The relatively small chelicerae are sexually dimorphic. In Taracus the chelicerae are strongly elongated...
with about forty species.
Species of this genus have usually thickened pedipalp
Pedipalp
Pedipalps , are the second pair of appendages of the prosoma in the subphylum Chelicerata. They are traditionally thought to be homologous with mandibles in Crustacea and insects, although more recent studies Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi), are the second pair of appendages of the...
s 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.
The genus is widespread in the temperate northern hemisphere, even extending into the subarctic, with the most southern records from caves in the southeastern USA and high elevations in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. The center of diversification seems to be in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, where many species were described from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Nepal. Some species occur in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
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
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
dunes.
Almost all Sabacon species prefer moist, cool microhabitats, and many species live in cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s, but none are modified for cave life. Outside of caves they are often found in forests or shaded ravine
Ravine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
s.
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 cavicolensSabacon cavicolensSabacon cavicolens is a species of harvestman.-Distribution:It was originally described from Bat Cave, Carter County, Kentucky and New Hampshire, and a year later found under rotten logs in a deep gorge at Ithaca, New York....
(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
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