Arachnids of North Carolina
Order:
Scientific Name: Common Name: Family (Alpha):
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Sole representative of ACROPSOPILIONIDAE in NC
NC Records

Acropsopilio boopis (Crosby) - No Common Name

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Order: OPILIONESSuborder: DyspnoiSuperfamily: AcropsopilionoideaFamily: ACROPSOPILIONIDAE                                                                                 
Comments: The only member of this genus that occurs in North America north of Mexico (Shear, 1975a; Cokendolpher and Lee, 1993)
Identification
Online Description/Photos: BugGuide Google, iNaturalist, Wikipedia, GBIFTechnical Description: Shear (1975a)
Comments: A minute Harvestman with exceptionally large eyes. As in Caddo agilis, the ocular tubercle takes up virtually the entire dorsal area of the cephalothorax. Caddo, however, is much larger and has a distinctive pale dorsal stripe. In boopis, the dorsal surface is of the cephalothorax is off-white and the rest of the body is medium brown and unmarked (Shear, 1975a). The pedipalps and legs are dark brown.
Total Length: 0.91 mm (Shear, 1975a)Adult ID: identifiable by photo
Structural Features: Males appear to be unknown and the species is believed to be parthenogenic (Shear, 1975a)
Distribution in North Carolina
Comments: Our sole record comes from the Nantahala Mountains. All other specimens appear to come from formerly glaciated regions in the North, from New England and southern Canada to the Great Lakes region (Shultz, 2013). As noted by Shultz, it seems likely that this species will turn out to be more widely distributed in the Southern Appalachians.
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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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Shear (195a) noted that most records for this species come the vicinity of lakes and streams. No habitat information is given for the North Carolina specimen (the coordinates given on the specimen label plot on a ridgetop).
Observation Methods: Collected by sifting or the use of Berelese funnels (Shear, 1975a)
Abundance/Frequency: Only known from a single specimen in North Carolina
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [W3]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] [SU]
State Protection: Arachnids are not protected under state law, although permits are needed to collect them in State Parks and other public and private nature preserves
Comments: This species was only recently discovered in North Carolina and known from just single specimen collected at a site located ~317 miles south from the next nearest population. Too little is currently known about the distribution, habitat associations, and population trends to estimate its conservation needs in North Carolina. As in our other species of minute, litter-dwelling Harvestmen, it may be vulnerable to the warming and drying impacts of climate change as well as to environmental disturbances that open up the forest canopy.