The Cyphophthalmi are a suborder of harvestmen, with about 36 genera, and more than hundred described species.
The six families are currently grouped into two infraorders, the Tropicophthalmi and the Temperophthalmi; however, these are not supported by modern phylogenetic analysis.

They are smaller than the more familiar "daddy long-legs" harvestmen, with adults ranging from 1 to 6mm, including legs. Moreover, their legs are comparatively short compared to their body length, typically shorter than the body. Some superficially resemble mite

Mite

Mites, along with ticks, are small arthropods belonging to the subclass Acari and the class Arachnida. The scientific discipline devoted to the study of ticks and mites is called acarology.-Diversity and systematics:...

s. Their coloration is almost always some shade of brown, with a heavily sclerotized body, and they are quite inconspicuous, residing in leaf litter or in cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s. Many cyphophthalmids are eyeless, and presumably rely on olfactory cues to find food and mates. Their scent glands are located on special elevated cones called ozophore

Ozophore

An ozophore is an elevated cone present in the harvestman suborder Cyphophthalmi. It carries the openings of the defensive glands, called ozopores, which are present in many harvestmen....

s. They have low dispersal rates and consequently high endemism.

Relationships

Cyphophthalmi are one of the two lineages of harvestmen, the other, containing the Laniatores

Laniatores

Laniatores is the largest suborder of the arachnid order Opiliones with over 4,000 described species worldwide. The majority of the species are highly dependent on humid environments and usually correlated with tropical and temperate forest habitats....

, Dyspnoi

Dyspnoi

The Dyspnoi are a suborder of harvestmen, with about 32 genera, and about 320 described species.Several fossil species are known, including two extinct families.The superfamilies Ischyropsalidoidea and Troguloidea are monophyletic...

 and Eupnoi

Eupnoi

The Eupnoi are a suborder of harvestmen, with more than 200 genera, and about 1,700 described species.They consist of two superfamilies, the Phalangioidea with many long-legged species common to northern temperate regions, and the small group Caddoidea, which have prominent eyes and spiny...

 is also called Phalangida. Although they are grouped into the infraorders Temperophthalmi and Tropicophthalmi, this division is not supported by either molecular or morphological data. DNA sequence data suggests that Neogoveidae and Troglosironidae form a monophyletic group.

Distribution

Cyphophthalmi are found on all continents, with the exception of Antarctica, where they probably also once lived. As they did not disperse onto any oceanic islands, and it is believed that they did not travel between separate landmasses, they make an interesting subject for biogeography

Biogeography

Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...

. Each of the six currently recognized families has a distinct distribution:

• the Stylocellidae are found from India to New Guinea
• the Ogoveidae occur in West Africa
• the Neogoveidae only occur between Florida
  Florida
  Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
  
   and Ecuador
  Ecuador
  Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
  
  , and western equatorial Africa
  Africa
  Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
  
  
• the Pettalidae are found in South America, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand (Gondwana
  Gondwana
  In paleogeography, Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland, was the southernmost of two supercontinents that later became parts of the Pangaea supercontinent. It existed from approximately 510 to 180 million years ago . Gondwana is believed to have sutured between ca. 570 and 510 Mya,...
  
   distribution)
• the Sironidae show a Laurasia
  Laurasia
  In paleogeography, Laurasia was the northernmost of two supercontinents that formed part of the Pangaea supercontinent from approximately...
  
  n distribution, with most members found in temperate Europe
  Europe
  Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
  
   and the west coast of North America
  North America
  North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
  
  
• and the Troglosironidae are restricted to New Caledonia
  New Caledonia
  New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
  
  . Although they occur in the same region as some Pettalidae, the two are not closely related.

Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

 shows the largest diversity of Cyphophthalmi among countries in South America. This could reflect the large number of ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

s found there, but could also be due to a high rate of sampling in this country.

Fossil Record

One fossil cyphophthalmid assigned to a modern genus, Siro platypedibus Dunlop & Gribet, 2003 (Sironidae), has been described from the ?Oligocene

Oligocene

The Oligocene is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 34 million to 23 million years before the present . As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the period are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the period are slightly...

 Bitterfeld

Bitterfeld

Bitterfeld is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approx. 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle...

 amber of eastern Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. A second fossil, Palaeosiro burmanicum Poinar, 2008, has been described from the Cretaceous

Cretaceous

The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...

 Myanmar (or Burmese) amber, and was also assigned to Sironidae.

Systematics

• Tropicophthalmi
• Stylocelloidea

• Stylocellidae
  Stylocellidae
  The Stylocellidae are a family of harvestmen with about 30 described species, all of which occur from India to New Guinea. Members of this family are from one to seven millimeters long...
  
   (5 genera, 34 species)
  • Ogoveoidea
• Ogoveidae
  Ogoveidae
  The Ogoveidae are a family of harvestmen with three described species in one genus, Ogovea, which is found in tropical rain forests of equatorial West Africa....
  
   (1 genus,3 species)
• Neogoveidae
  Neogoveidae
  The Neogoveidae are a family of harvestmen with twelve described species in five genera. However, at least seven species of Huitaca, 17 species of Metagovea and twelve species of Neogovea are currently awaiting description.-Distribution:...
  
   (5 genera, 12 species)

• Temperophthalmi
• Sironoidea

• Pettalidae
  Pettalidae
  The Pettalidae are a family of harvestmen with 52 described species and subspecies in eleven genera. Several undescribed species are known or assumed in some genera.-Name:Pettalus is a name from Greek mythology that appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses....
  
   (11 genera, 35 species)
• Sironidae
  Sironidae
  The Sironidae are a family of harvestmen with more than 30 described species.The family shows a Laurasian distribution, with most species found in temperate Europe and the west coast of North America...
  
   (8 genera, 35 species)
• Troglosironidae
  Troglosironidae
  The Troglosironidae are a family of harvestmen with thirteen described species in a single genus, Troglosiro. Several species, including six undescribed ones, were collected around the island, and more are expected to be found....
  
  (1 genus, 13 species)

Further reading

• Dunlop, Jason A. & Giribet, Gonzalo (2003): The first fossil Cyphophthalmid (Arachnida, Opiliones) from Bitterfeld Amber, Germany. The Journal of Arachnology 31: 371-381. PDF

External links

• Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology: Cyphophthalmi Research page