Laniatores

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Classis: Arachnida
Ordo: Opiliones
Subordo: Laniatores
Infraordines: Grassatores - "Insidiatores"
Overview of families

Assamiidae - Cosmetidae - Cryptomastridae – Epedanidae - Fissiphalliidae - Gonyleptidae - Oncopodidae - Phalangodidae - Pyramidopidae - Stygnidae - Stygnommatidae - Stygnopsidae - Synthetonychiidae - Triaenonychidae - Zalmoxidae
Name

Laniatores Thorell, 1876
References

Thorell T., 1876. Sopra alcuni opilioni (Phalangidea) d'Europa e dell'Asia occidentale con un quadro dei generi Europei de quest'ordine. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale (Genoa) series 1, 8: 452-508.
Derkarabetian, S., Starrett, J., Tsurusaki, N., Ubick, D., Castillo, S. & Hedin, M. 2018. A stable phylogenomic classification of Travunioidea (Arachnida, Opiliones, Laniatores) based on sequence capture of ultraconserved elements. ZooKeys 760: 1–36. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.760.24937. Reference page.
Forster R.R., 1954. The New Zealand harvestmen (Sub-order Laniatores). Canterbury Museum bulletin, 2: 1–329.
Giribet G., Vogt L., González A.P., Sharma P. & Kury A.B. (in press). A multilocus approach to harvestman (Arachnida: Opiliones) phylogeny with emphasis on biogeography and the systematics of Laniatores. Cladistics, DOI: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2009.00296.x.
Kury A.B. & Alonso-Zarazaga M.A., 2011. Addenda and corrigenda to the "Annotated catalogue of the Laniatores of the New World (Arachnida, Opiliones)". Zootaxa, 3034: 47–68 (Preview).
Kury, A.B. & Medrano, M. 2016. Review of terminology for the outline of dorsal scutum in Laniatores (Arachnida, Opiliones). Zootaxa 4097(1): 130–134. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4097.1.9 Reference page.
Starrett, J., Derkarabetian, S., Richart, C.H., Cabrero, A. & Hedin, M. 2016. A new monster from southwest Oregon forests: Cryptomaster behemoth sp. n. (Opiliones, Laniatores, Travunioidea). ZooKeys 555: 11-35. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.555.6274. Reference page.

Links

Laniatores – Taxon details on Biological Library (BioLib).
Laniatores – Taxon details on BugGuide.
Laniatores – Taxon details on Encyclopedia of Life (EOL).
Laniatores – Taxon details on Fauna Europaea.
Laniatores – Taxon details on Fossilworks.
Laniatores - Taxon details on iNaturalist.

Laniatores – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Laniatores – Taxon details on National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI).
Laniatores – Taxon details on New Zealand Organisms Register (NZOR).
Laniatores is the largest suborder of the arachnid order Opiliones with over 4,000 described species worldwide. The majority of the species are highly dependent on humid environments and usually correlated with tropical and temperate forest habitats.

Laniatores are typically (relatively) short-legged, hard-plated, spiny Opiliones, common under logs and stones, in leaf litter and in caves. They often have spiny pedipalps and paired or branched claws on the third and fourth pairs of legs.[1] The largest family is Gonyleptidae Sundevall, 1833, endemic of the Neotropics, with over 800 valid species and showing many cases of maternal and paternal care.
Identification

The dorsal scutum consists of a single piece, with the carapace or peltidium entirely fused with abdominal scutum. The pedipalpus is usually robust and armed with strong spines. The ovipositor is short and unsegmented (derived character state shared with the Dyspnoi). The penis is complex, with many sclerites. Some of the sclerites are movable, with a single penial muscle present. For the most part, the penis is without muscles, instead working by hemolymph pressure.
Subtaxa

Infraorder "Insidiatores" Loman, 1900 (probably diphyletic)
Superfamily Travunioidea Absolon & Kratochvil, 1932
Superfamily Triaenonychoidea Sørensen, 1886
Infraorder Grassatores Kury, 2002
Superfamily Epedanoidea Sørensen, 1886
Superfamily Phalangodoidea Simon, 1879
Superfamily Samooidea Sørensen, 1886
Superfamily Zalmoxoidea Sørensen, 1886
Superfamily Gonyleptoidea Sundevall, 1833

Definitions and limits of superfamilies are still in a state of flux. The largest by far is the Gonyleptoidea, with almost 2,500 described species.
Geographic distribution

Distribution of subunits of Laniatores is very interesting from the biogeographic point of view. The Travunioidea are typical of northern temperate regions while the Triaenonychoidea make their counterpart in the southern temperate regions. The other superfamilies are tropical, with many noteworthy endemisms and transcontinental relationships.
Footnotes

Pinto-da-Rocha et al. 2007: 17

References

Pinto-da-Rocha, R., Machado, G. & Giribet, G. (eds.) (2007): Harvestmen - The Biology of Opiliones. Harvard University Press ISBN 0-674-02343-9