Solifugae

Galeodes sp., copyright Arthur Anker.

Belongs within: Arachnida.

The Solifugae, variously called sun spiders, camel spiders or wind scorpions, are fast-moving arachnids found primarily in arid environments. They have a body divided between the prosoma and a segmented opisthosoma, and have conspicuously large, chelate two-segmented chelicerae.

Characters (from International Society of Arachnology): Body divided into two tagmata, the cephalothorax (prosoma) and abdomen (opisthosoma); appendages attached to prosoma. Dorsal plate of cephalothorax divided into propeltidium, mesopeltidium and metapeltidium. Abdomen segmented. Two eyes present, centrally located on dorsum of propeltidium. Chelicerae two-segmented, enormous, projecting forward from cephalothorax; male chelicerae bearing flagella or flagelliform setae. Pedipalps covered in sensory setae; cuticular lips present at tips of pedipalps that open to expose an eversible suctorial organ. Feeding via external digestion; sieve-like rostrum inside mouth opening filters out particulate material. Alimentary system consists of foregut, midgut and hindgut; hindgut bears lateral branches. Extensive tracheal system present that opens via prosomal and opisthosomal spiracles. Heart located dorsally in the abdomen. Brain consists of supra- and subesophageal ganglia. Malleoli (racquet organs) present as fan-like processes extending below ventral surface of last pair of legs. Female solifuge reproductive system includes pair of ovaries with pair of oviducts leading to a single genital chamber. Internal male reproductive system consists of two pairs of testes merging into vasa deferentia, which then merge into the genital chamber.

<==Solifugae [Solpugida]
    |  i. s.: Ammotrechella stimpsoni CS90
    |         Eremocosta gigasella RS10
    |--Protosolpuga [Protosolpugidae] H02
    |    `--*P. carbonaria Petrunkevitch 1913 H02
    |--Ceromidae R52
    |    |--*Cratosolpuga wunderlichi Selden 1996 H02
    |    `--Ceroma ornatum Karsch 1885 R52
    |--Eusimonia [Karschiidae] AP02
    |    |--E. mirabilis Roewer 1934 AP02
    |    `--E. wunderlichi Pieper 1977 GE02
    |--Ammotrechidae R54
    |    |  i. s.: *Happlodontus proterus Poinar & Santiago-Blay 1989 H02
    |    |         Oltacola gomezi Roewer 1934 AP02
    |    |         Procleobis patagonicus (Holmberg 1876) AP02
    |    |         Nothopuga DW10
    |    `--Ammotrechinae R54
    |         |--Ammotrechula schusterae Roewer 1954 R54
    |         `--Ammotrecha R54
    |              |--A. limbata R54
    |              `--A. stolli R54
    |--Galeodidae AP02
    |    |--Aellopus S69
    |    |--Rhax S69
    |    `--Galeodes Olivier 1791 BR05
    |         |--G. arabs Koch 1842 S69
    |         |--G. araneoides (Pallas 1772) AP02 [=Phalangium araneoides H02]
    |         |--G. barbarus T09
    |         |--G. brevipes S69
    |         |--G. fatalis [incl. G. vorax] S69
    |         |--G. orientalis Stoliczka 1869 S69
    |         `--G. subulata W68
    |--Hexisopodidae KBT11
    |    |--Hexisopus Karsch 1879 KBT11
    |    |    `--H. psammophilus Wharton 1981 KBT11
    |    `--Chelypus Purcell 1902 KBT11
    |--Gluvia [Daesiidae] KBT11
    |    `--G. dorsalis (Latreille 1817) KBT11
    |--Daesiidae KBT11
    |--Solpuga Lichtenstein 1796 H02 [Solpugidae KBT11]
    |    `--S. barbara Lucas 1846 E12
    `--Chanbria [Eremobatidae] DW10
         `--C. regalis Muma 1951 GE02

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[AP02] Alberti, G., & A. V. Peretti. 2002. Fine structure of male genital system and sperm in Solifugae does not support a sister-group relationship with Pseudoscorpiones (Arachnida). Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 268–274.

[BR05] Bouchet, P., J.-P. Rocroi, J. Frýda, B. Hausdorf, W. Ponder, Á. Valdés & A. Warén. 2005. Classification and nomenclator of gastropod families. Malacologia 47 (1–2): 1–397.

[CS90] Corey, D. T., & I. J. Stout. 1990. Ground surface arachnids in sandhill communities of Florida. Journal of Arachnology 18: 167–172.

[DW10] Dabert, M., W. Witalinski, A. Kazmierski, Z. Olszanowski & J. Dabert. 2010. Molecular phylogeny of acariform mites (Acari, Arachnida): strong conflict between phylogenetic signal and long-branch attraction artifacts. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 56 (1): 222–241.

[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l'Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.

[GE02] Giribet, G., G. D. Edgecombe, W. C. Wheeler & C. Babbitt. 2002. Phylogeny and systematic position of Opiliones: a combined analysis of chelicerate relationships using morphological and molecular data. Cladistics 18: 5–70.

[H02] Harvey, M. S. 2002. The neglected cousins: what do we know about the smaller arachnid orders? Journal of Arachnology 30 (2): 357–372.

[KBT11] Klann, A. E., T. L. Bird & G. Talarico. 2011. Ultrastructural characterization of Hexisopus psammophilus (Arachnida: Solifugae: Hexisopodidae) spermatozoa in comparison to other solifuge spermatozoal traits. Journal of Arachnology 39 (2): 280–286.

[RS10] Regier, J. C., J. W. Shultz, A. Zwick, A. Hussey, B. Ball, R. Wetzer, J. W. Martin & C. W. Cunningham. 2010. Arthropod relationships revealed by phylogenomic analysis of nuclear protein-coding sequences. Nature 463: 1079–1083.

[R52] Roewer, C. F. 1952. Opilioniden and Solifugen aus Ost-Afrika. Veröffentlichungen aus dem Deutschen Kolonial- und Uebersee-Museum in Bremen, Reihe A 2: 87–89.

[R54] Roewer, C. F. 1954. Spinnentiere aus El Salvador, I. (Arachnoidea: Pedipalpi, Solifuga, Opiliones-Laniatores). Senckenbergiana Biologica 35: 57–73.

[S69] Stoliczka, F. 1869. Contribution to the knowledge of Indian Arachnoidea. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 38 pt 2 (4): 201–251, pls 18–20.

[T09] Taylor, C. K. 2009. Australiscutum, a new genus of Monoscutidae (Arachnida: Opiliones) from eastern Australia, with the first record of asymmetrical chelicerae in Opiliones. Insect Systematics and Evolution 40: 319–332.

[W68] Wood, H. C., Jr. 1868. On the Phalangeae of the United States of America. Communications of the Essex Institute 6: 10–40.