Description
Book SynopsisThis is the first comprehensive treatment of a major order of arachnids featuring more than 6,000 species worldwide, familiar in North America as daddy-longlegs but known scientifically as the Opiliones, or harvestmen. The 25 authors provide a broad taxonomic and ecological background for understanding this major arachnid group.
Trade ReviewHarvestmen covers virtually every aspect of harvestman biology… Inevitably, the longest chapter is on taxonomy, dealing with the disturbing features of the families and subfamilies in the four major
Opiliones suborders. This is the first major revision of the order in over fifty years, and it is a tour de force… This is a book that will be prized by many naturalists, both amateur and professional. For anyone with even a passing interest in harvestmen, it will be required reading for decades to come. -- Matthew Cobb * Times Literary Supplement *
A summary volume exceeding those of other arachnid orders in breadth and completeness… The landmark chapter on taxonomy will be particularly welcome to workers considering studying these animals. For the first time, the family level diversity of this group is very clearly summarized, with keys, diagnostic characters, etymology, phylogenetic relationships, and plentiful scanning electron micrographs and illustrations, on a worldwide basis… The text presents enough unanswered questions to provide an army of graduate students with research topics. By illuminating what makes Opiliones a distinctive taxon, the book sheds much light on the evolution and biology of arachnids as a whole, and anyone with an interest in Arachnida should acquire this work. -- Michael L. Draney * Quarterly Review of Biology *
This will be a mandatory classic for arachnologists, zoologists, and general biologists. -- Jonathan A. Coddington, Smithsonian Institution
Considering that…no single volume addressing [Opilione] biology has ever been written, this book is long overdue and will fill a notorious gap in the arachnological literature. There is no question that it will become a landmark reference, much like Weygoldt on pseudoscorpions, Polis on scorpions, and Punzo on solifuges, ultimately stimulating a resurgence in research on this diverse group of organisms. -- Lorenzo Prendini, Assistant Curator: Arachnids and Myriapods, American Museum of Natural History
Table of ContentsContributors Preface 1. What are harvestmen? 2. Morphology and functional anatomy 3. Phylogeny and biogeography 4. Taxonomy 5. Paleontology 6. Cytogenetics 7. Ecology 8. Foraging and food habits 9. Natural enemies 10. Defense mechanisms 11. Social behavior 12. Reproduction 13. Development 14. Eco-physiology 15. Field and laboratory methods References Taxonomic Index Subject Index
