"PSEUDOSCORPIONS are minute
animals only a few millimeters long,
with the general appearance of diminutive
scorpions except that they have no
tails. They belong to the large phylum of
joint-legged animals, the Arthropoda, and to
the class Arachnida. which, in addition to
the pseudoscorpions, embraces the spiders,
mites, ticks, scorpions, and other related
groups. Pseudoscorpions are seclusive in
habit, occurring in soil cover and rotten logs,
under bark, and in similar places out of
doors: one species is found in houses. In
their natural habitat, these little brown animals
arc difficult to see. especially when they
draw in their legs and ""play possum."" In
this position they look like little specks of
dirt. Probably because pseudoscorpions are
inconspicuous, few collections of the group
have been made in the past, and the fauna,
at least of North America, and especially
of the central and north-central United
States, has remained scantily known. The object of this report is twofold, first
to present illustrated keys and descriptions
for the identification of species in this region,
and, secondly, to summarize information
regarding the distribution, biology, and habitat
preferences of the species. As an aid in
use of the keys, a section has been included
on morphology, in which the structures now
considered of major taxonomic importance
are explained.
Summarizing the distribution has been
especially difficult because many identifications
made prior to Chamberlin's work are
probably incorrect and should be rechecked
before they are cited. Because of this situation
there is little accurate information to
serve as a guide in foretelling what additional
described species may be collected in
Illinois. In order to make this report of
wide application, the keys have been made
to include all the genera known from the
central and northeastern portions of the
United States and adjacent portions of
Canada."
Publisher
Champaign : Illinois Natural History Survey
Series/Report Name or Number
Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin; v. 024, no. 04
ISSN
0073-4918
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/44824
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