Nemastomatidae

The Nemastomatidae are a family of harvestmen with about 170 described species in 16 recent genera. Several fossil species and genera are known. Unlike some related currently recognized families, the Nemastomatidae are monophyletic. Members of the Nemastomatidae range in body length from about one to almost six millimeters. Their chelicerae are of normal proportions, but the pedipalps are very elongated and thin in some groups. Leg length is likewise variable. The subfamily Ortholasmatinae (ten species in two genera) occur on both sides of the Pacific Ocean: in western North America from Mexico to British Columbia and eastern Asia (Japan and northern Thailand.The other subfamily, Nemastomatinae, occur all over Europe up to Iceland and the Caucasus, in the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, from Anatolia to northern Iran, with a few species found outside this region, in Central Asia and the Himalayas.Most species are restricted to very small mountainous southern regions. The Nemastomatidae are probably a sister group to the genera Dicranolasma (Dicranolasmatidae) and Trogulus (Trogulidae). The genus name Nemastoma is a combination of Ancient Greek nema 'thread' and stoma 'mouth', referring to the elongated pedipalps.