Arachnids of North Carolina
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View Sclerosomatidae Members: NC Records

Leiobunum vittatum (Say 1821) - No Common Name


Taxonomy
Order: OPILIONESSuborder: EupnoiSuperfamily: PhalangioideaFamily: Sclerosomatidae                                                                                 
Comments: Approximately 30 species in this genus have been identified as occurring in North America north of Mexico (Cokendolpher and Lee, 1993; Ingianni et al., 2011), with 16 recorded in North Carolina. However, the validity of several of these species is suspect, with several that will probably be determined to be synonyms of other species, e.g., davisi, speciosum, and zimmermani in North Carolina Burns et al., 2012; Shultz, 2018). According to Shultz (2018), moreover, recent phylogenetic studies indicate both that more species are waiting to be described and that the name Leiobunum may eventually be restricted to European species, requiring new generic names for most, if not all, of our species.
Species Comment: Placed in the Leiobunum vittatum Species Group by Burns et al. 2012) based on both reproductive structures and genetic analysis. In North Carolina, this group also includes L. uxorium.
Identification
Online Description/Photos: BugGuide Google, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, GBIFTechnical Description: Davis (1934); Shultz (2018)
Comments: Males are golden-yellow to dark red-brown above. The central figure is distinct and there are often black and light yellow markings along the sides of the abdomen. The palps are light yellow to red-brown. The coxae of the legs are pale and contrasting with the dark brown trochanters and bases of the femurs; the remainder of the legs are either pale with dark annulations or are uniformly dark (Davis, 1934). Females are similarly variable in color and in their possession of a strong central figure. Individuals of both sexes become darker as they age (Shultz, 2018); juveniles are contrastingly marked with black and white.
Total Length: 5-7 mm, males; 7-8.5 mm, females (Davis, 1934)Adult ID: identifiable by photo of specific features and/or supplementary info
Structural Features: The palpal femur of the male is distinctive: slender, curved, and extending above surface of carapace a distance equal to three times the height of the eye tubercle (Davis, 1934). The abdomen of the male is pointed behind, rounded in the female.
Distribution in North Carolina
Comments: North Carolina records come from both the Piedmont and Mountains, including at least one record from high elevations
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Adult phenology:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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