Cheliferidae Risso, 1827

Family

Chelifer cancroides from Europe  (Image: M. Harvey)

The Cheliferidae is the oldest pseudoscorpion family having been created for the first pseudoscorpion genus, Chelifer, which was described in 1762. For most of the 19th century it included the majority of pseudoscorpions. It was restricted by Chamberlin (1931) and Beier (1932) to include those cheliferoids with the venom apparatus within both chelal fingers, represented by the subfamilies Cheliferinae and Withiinae. Weygoldt (1970) recognized the Withiidae as a distinct family, thus restricting the Cheliferidae. Harvey (1992) augmented the family through the transfer of the enigmatic Australasian genus Philomaoria from the Withiidae to the Cheliferidae.

Composition

The family is currently divided into two subfamilies, Cheliferinae and Philomaoriinae. The Cheliferinae have 57 recognized genera and Philomaoriinae contain a single genus, Philomaoria. The poorly described genus Ectoceras and the Chinese amber Trachychelifer liaoningense cannot be placed within any existing group.

Distribution

Cheliferines are found all over the world, but appear to be less diverse in the Australasian and Neotropical regions than in other regions of the world. Philomaoriines occur in New Zealand and nearby islands.

Distribution Count
12
United Arab Emirates 2
Afghanistan 11
Albania 4
Armenia 4
Argentina 2
Austria 8
Australia 8
Azerbaijan 16
Bosnia and Herzegovina 6
Bangladesh 1
Belgium 4
Bulgaria 10
Brazil 5
Bhutan 1
Canada 5
Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) 11
Switzerland 7
Ivory Coast 4
Chile 2
China 6
Cuba 4
Cyprus 6
Czech Republic 5
Germany 5
Denmark 4
Dominican Republic 3
Algeria 13
Ecuador 1
Estonia 2
Egypt 3
Spain 27
Ethiopia 3
Finland 5
France 15
Gabon 2
United Kingdom 4
Georgia 10
Ghana 2
Guinea 1
Greece 22
Guatemala 3
Croatia 10
Haiti 1
Hungary 7
Indonesia 7
Ireland 2
Israel 17
India 18
Iraq 1
Iran 9
Iceland 2
Italy 19
Jordan 4
Japan 6
Kenya 16
Kyrgyzstan 9
Cambodia 2
Kazakhstan 14
Laos 2
Lebanon 4
Sri Lanka 5
Lesotho 3
Luxembourg 4
Latvia 2
Libya 2
Morocco 12
Montenegro 3
Madagascar 2
Macedonia 4
Myanmar 3
Mongolia 15
Malta 3
Mauritius 2
Malawi 2
Mexico 13
Malaysia 3
Mozambique 1
Namibia 2
Niger 2
Netherlands 5
Norway 2
Nepal 5
New Zealand 6
Oman 3
Papua New Guinea 5
Philippines 4
Pakistan 4
Poland 6
Portugal 8
Reunion 2
Romania 6
Serbia 5
Russia 4
Rwanda 1
Saudi Arabia 5
Solomon Islands 1
Sudan 2
Sweden 5
Slovakia 7
Somalia 6
Syria 1
Chad 5
Thailand 6
Tajikistan 8
Turkmenistan 10
Tunisia 13
Turkey 30
Taiwan 1
Tanzania 9
Ukraine 3
Uganda 2
United States 30
Uzbekistan 12
U.S. Virgin Islands 1
Vietnam 16
Vanuatu 1
Yemen 2
South Africa 23
Zambia 1
Zimbabwe 3

Important References

Beier, M. (1932e). Pseudoscorpionidea II. Subord. C. Cheliferinea. Tierreich 58: i-xxi, 1-294.

References

Cheliferidae Westwood, 1836: 10; Westwood, 1838: 145; Hagen, 1879: 400; Simon, 1879a: 18; Tömösváry, 1882b: 182-183; Hansen, 1884: 516-531; Daday, 1888: 113; Balzan, 1890: 409; Balzan, 1892: 509; Hansen, 1894: 231; Becker, 1896: 326; Tullgren, 1899a: 164-165; Ellingsen, 1904: 1; Tullgren, 1906a: 201; With, 1906: 115-116; Kew, 1911a: 39; Lessert, 1911: 9; Comstock, 1913: 45; Moles and Moore, 1921: 6; Chamberlin, 1923c: 369; Redikorzev, 1924b: 21; Pratt, 1927: 409; Bacelar, 1928: 190 (as Cheliceridae [sic]); Schenkel, 1928: 55; Väänänen, 1928a: 17; Chamberlin, 1931a: 244-246; Chamberlin, 1931c: 289-290; Beier, 1932e: 191; Beier, 1932g: 188-189; Chamberlin, 1935b: 481; Roewer, 1937: 304-305; Hoff, 1949b: 485; Petrunkevitch, 1955: 82; Hoff, 1956d: 1-2; Morikawa, 1960: 148; Dubinin, 1962: 442; Meinertz, 1962: 96 (as Cheriferidae [sic]); Beier, 1963b: 279-280; Muchmore, 1973b: 58; Murthy and Ananthakrishnan, 1977: 145; Muchmore, 1982a: 101; Harvey, 1985b: 131; Legg and Jones, 1988: 128; Harvey, 1991a: 482; Gärdenfors and Wilander, 1992: 29; Harvey, 1992c: 1425-1426.