Is this Harvestman Paroligolophus agrestis?

[Geoff F]

On the edge of woodland, S. Devon.

Well camoflaged between some bramble leaves. Average harvestman size. I've had a good search around and the best I can suggest is Paroligolophus agrestis which has the thick/thin legs but the images which I've found so far have a darker colour.

What do the harvestmen experts think about this one?

[Pudding4brains]

Hi Geoff,

From what I can recognize on the image I'd say the 'thorns' on the ocularium are too big/prominent for Paroligolophus agrestis. On a picture from this 'distance' the ocularium of that species would appear to be completely smooth (there actually are some minute thorns, but you would need a much better close-up to even see a hint of these). On this image I seem to see at least a few clear thorns/tubercles. I don't know Paroligolophus meadi at all, but I suspect it will be the same for that (??)

So, that would make Oligolophus a more likely bet. possibly female O. tridens (????), but I really shouldn't be talking as I still haven't figured out the "short legged thorny nosed" harvesters at all to my own liking yet. For all I know it could even be Lacinius or Lophopilio - just not confident at all with these (yet?!)

Sorry, Arp

[Geoff F]

Thanks for those suggestions I will try to find more info on them. But I've always found details about harvestmen is hard to find. There are plenty of good spider sites but harvestmen seem to be the 'poor relations'.

Anyway I will see what I can find tomorrow. My internet connection usually grinds to a halt about now on Fridays and Saturdays.

[Pudding4brains]

You'll find a scratchpad of links here

Especially check out this gallery though and these two images by Hay Wijnhoven: 1, 2.

Also, Action_man has a nifty project with some helpful drawings

[Action_Man]

Yes if you look at that article on Opiliones, it says "The legs are not long and there femora are rounded". The femora on this specimen are angular ...

[Geoff F]

Thanks for the information and links. Looks like I've got some reading to do. Might print out Action Man's articles as I find it usually seems to 'sink in' quicker from written material than when read on screen.

Today I photographed another one, in my garden, which on first look appears rather like Oligolophus. And then I can start working through my backlog of unid Harvestmen.

[Action_Man]

Geoff some(a lot) of those names in that thread are way out of date, the book was published in 1945 .

I`ll get around to editing it one day ...

[Geoff F]

Printed it and after 2 readings some details are starting to sink in. I would certainly recommend it as a starting point for anyone wishing to learn more about Harvestmen, etc.

[Geoff F]

After reading Action Man's article several times and looking around at many possible alternatives, I still tend to return to Paroligolophus agrestis. So far I cant find any images of P. meadi but according to Action Man's information it comes down to the size of the central spine of the 'trident'. And, additional to this, it would appear to be a bit on the small size.

Compared to the bramble leaf, I would suggest a body size of at least 5 mm.

P. agrestis appears to be very variable in colour but is generally brown or reddish brown on a silver grey background, which fits. Lacinius, while variable, would appear to have a more yellowish background.

Here is an enlarged image.



What is confusing me is that there seems to be 2 small spines in the second row but the central spine of the first row is definitely larger than those on each side which doesn't match up with Action Man's drawings.

I have certainly learnt a lot here but with around 50 new RAW images from today still to be downloaded and sorted, I think I may have to leave this labelled as possible Paroligolophus agrestis for now and have another think during the winter.

That is, unless somebody can come up with a positive answer after seeing the enlargement.

[Action_Man]

Agrestis has rounded legs Geoff.

Does it look like the one in the image below ?.