Harvestman confusion

[JRsbugs]

Hello,

This has me confused, the legs don't look right for Rilaena triangularis but the body pattern seems close. I thought there was a good similarity to Nelima gothica apart from the pattern. The eyes appear to be spineless.

The legs are quite long, I had to resize the pic showing the full animal as it was too large but they don't look chunky enough for R. triangularis. I didn't get the best shot from above as I think it was near the wall bottom in an awkward spot, eventually I managed a side view 3 minutes later but you can see it's the same animal.

Size ~4mm.

Janet

[Geoff F]

Ideally I would like some close up photos from different angles but just going with what is available and the general colouration, my first thought would be Leiobunum blackwalli female.

There are insufficient spines on the ocularium for Rilaena triangularis and the dark markings on the trochanters rule out Nelima gothica.

But that is something of a guess so I would appreciate a second opinion from Gordon.

[Action_Man]

Well it does look to be a female Leiobunum blackwalli, I cant see the central dark band on the ocularium, and there usually slightly larger than 4mms, although i assume this is a guess ?.

[JRsbugs]

The size Gordon would be quite close as I noted it against the pic when I edited it on the same day I took it. I'm usually good at accurately noting sizes and in most cases note the size when I take the pic as well as record it.

I hadn't got further to naming it until now while I'm sorting my folders.

The thing which struck me is the lack of the dark band between the eyes, hence the search. Besides that both the pattern and the shape of the abdomen don't appear to fit L. blackwalli.

Geoff, the dark marks on the trochanters were one of the reasons I had thought it might be Nelima gothica. I have the pdf download originally from Gordon's site with different pics to those now on Opilionesuk and they appear to have those, apart from the description which mentions this:

It can further bedistinguished from the two foregoing species by a dark spot at the distal end of each coxa.

Nelima gothica
This is a rare species which resembles Leiobunum closely enough to make it at once obvious that it
belongs to the sub-family Leiobuninae, The genus Nelima is separated from Leiobunum by rows of
little denticles on the coaxa, present in the latter and missing in Nelima. It can further be
distinguished from the two foregoing species by a dark spot at the distal end of each coxa, by its
pale trochanters without lateral teeth, the shorter leggs (pale brownish with yellow annulations) and
by the two rows of small denticulae on the ocular tubercle.
The species wasn't recognized and described until 1945 (by LOHMANDER) and earlier (and some later)
records of Nelima silvatica (BRISTOWE, 1935; BROWN & SANKEY, 1949) are misidentifications. So,
while the two names are not synonymous, early British references of Nelima silvatica are all
presumed to be in fact Nelima gothica.

Your pics on flickr Gordon...

nelima gothica - Flickr: Search

I wonder if I can copy the pics from the pdf.. it says copy image Control + C but that doesn't work.

[Action_Man]

I`ll have a further look tomorrow Janet, and perhaps I`ll consult Arp (if i can get hold of him).

In the meantime, here are some of my images of confirmed N. gothica

https://607012758701450506-a-1802744...attredirects=0
https://607012758701450506-a-1802744...attredirects=0
https://607012758701450506-a-1802744...attredirects=0
https://607012758701450506-a-1802744...attredirects=0

[JRsbugs]

Thanks Gordon. The underneath of yours looks very much like mine.

One thing you can see for sure is the lack of small denticles on the coaxa, and there are some tiny hairs visible on the eye rims. Have you enlarged the side view again to full size?

There is a description of Nelima gothica on google books.. with keys. It mentions the saddle on the female which is not usually very visible, and the silvery marks.


Harvestmen: keys and notes for the ... - Google Books

[JRsbugs]

Hi Gordon, did you manage to contact Arp on this?