Sitalcina

Sitalcina rothi, photographed by Marshal Hedin.

Belongs within: Phalangodidae.

Sitalcina is a genus of harvestmen found in California and Arizona. Males of Sitalcina possess a large ventral spur on trochanter IV, and a penis with an entire ventral plate and folding glans (Ubick & Briggs 2008).

Characters (from Ubick & Briggs 2008): Body length 1.25–2.50 mm. Body finely rugose with variable number of larger tubercles scattered throughout, especially on tergite margins; scute with few to several anterior tubercles. Eyemound rounded to conical, eyes present. Cheliceral base with sloping dorsodistal swelling. Palpal megaspines: trochanter 1–2 small; femur 3 ventrobasal, 1 mesodistal; patella 1 mesal, 2 ectal; tibia and tarsus each 2 mesal, 2 ectal. Male trochanter IV with ectoventral spur. Tarsal count 3-5-5-5. Penis with ventral plate entire, bearing several pairs of setae, apical spine lacking (except in S. californica); glans unfolds during expansion, with trough-like dorsal lobes (divided in S. seca), with one pair of parastylar lobes; stylus variable in shape, lacking subapical tubercle. Ovipositor cuticle with microspines in imbricate arrangement, apex lacking tooth, with eight pairs of setae, hooked or sinuous, with simple or polyfurcate tips.

Sitalcina Banks 1911 [incl. Metapachylus Banks 1909 non Pickard-Cambridge 1905] UB08
    |--*S. californica (Banks 1893) (see below for synonymy) UB08
    |--S. lobata Goodnight & Goodnight 1942 [=S. lobatus] UB08
    `--+--S. borregoensis Briggs 1968 UB08
       |--S. chalona Briggs 1968 [=S. flava chalona] UB08
       |--S. flava Briggs 1968 UB08
       |--S. seca Ubick & Briggs 2008 UB08
       |--S. sura Briggs 1968 UB08
       `--+--S. catalina Ubick & Briggs 2008 UB08
          |--S. peacheyi Ubick & Briggs 2008 UB08
          `--S. rothi Ubick & Briggs 2008 UB08

*Sitalcina californica (Banks 1893) [=Sitalces californicus, Pachylicus californicus, Paramitraceras californicus, Sitalcina californicus] UB08

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[UB08] Ubick, D., & T. S. Briggs. 2008. The harvestman family Phalangodidae. 6. Revision of the Sitalcina complex (Opiliones: Laniatores). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, series 4, 59 (1): 1-108.