Neobisiidae Chamberlin, 1930

Family

Neobisium carcinoides from Scotland  (Image: M. Harvey)Halobisium occidentale from Alaska, U.S.A.  (Image: M. Harvey)Tuberocreagris lata from U.S.A.  (Image: M. Harvey)

The Neobisiidae was named by Chamberlin (1930) when he replaced Obisium with Neobisium. The family has basically retained the same composition since then, although various genera have been removed, and numerous newly described genera have been proposed.

Composition

The family contains 32 genera, of which 20 are included in the Microcreagrinae and 12 in the Neobisiinae. These two subfamilies are separated purely on the morphology of the cheliceral flagellum, suggesting that the microcreagrines are paraphyletic. The family contains two of the largest pseudoscorpion genera, Neobisium with over 200 named species, and Roncus with over 120 named species.

Distribution

The family is mostly distributed in the northern temperate regions of the world, although some species of Microbisium occur in tropical areas as far south as Zimbabwe in the Old World and the Caribbean in the New World. They are found in leaf litter and soil, under rocks, bark and in caves.

Distribution Count
7
Afghanistan 5
Albania 11
Armenia 5
Austria 29
Azerbaijan 15
Bosnia and Herzegovina 48
Belgium 6
Bulgaria 26
Canada 3
Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) 2
Switzerland 17
China 20
Costa Rica 2
Cyprus 1
Czech Republic 9
Germany 13
Denmark 3
Algeria 11
Estonia 3
Spain 98
Finland 3
France 62
United Kingdom 7
Georgia 26
Greece 47
Croatia 73
Hungary 20
Ireland 6
Israel 1
India 6
Iran 10
Iceland 2
Italy 108
Japan 19
Kenya 3
Kyrgyzstan 5
South Korea 8
Kazakhstan 3
Lebanon 1
Luxembourg 3
Latvia 3
Morocco 6
Moldova 2
Montenegro 37
Macedonia 22
Myanmar 1
Mongolia 1
Malta 3
Mexico 1
Netherlands 7
Norway 3
Nepal 5
Philippines 3
Pakistan 4
Poland 16
Portugal 20
Romania 42
Serbia 47
Russia 16
Rwanda 1
Sweden 4
Saint Helena 1
Slovenia 23
Slovakia 20
El Salvador 1
Syria 1
Thailand 5
Tajikistan 1
Turkmenistan 3
Tunisia 3
Turkey 27
Taiwan 2
Tanzania 1
Ukraine 12
United States 66
Uzbekistan 2
Vietnam 6
Zimbabwe 1

Important References

Beier, M. (1963b). Ordnung Pseudoscorpionidea (Afterskorpione). In Bestimmungsbücher zur Bodenfauna Europas, vol. 1. Akademie-Verlag: Berlin.

Ćurčić, B.P.M. (1983a). A revision of some Asian species of Microcreagris Balzan, 1892 (Neobisiidae, Pseudoscorpiones). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 6: 23-36.

Ćurčić, B.P.M. (1984b). A revision of some North American species of Microcreagris Balzan, 1892 (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae). Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society 6: 149-166.

Heurtault, J. (1978a). Occitanobisium coiffaiti n. gen. n. sp. de Pseudoscorpions (Arachnides, Neobisiidae, Neobisiinae) du département de l'Hérault, France. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris (3) 497(Zoologie 346): 1121-1134.

References

Obisiidae Sundevall, 1833: 33 (as Obisides [sic]); Schiödte, 1851a: 23 (as Obisia [sic]); Tömösváry, 1882b: 213-214; Daday, 1888: 126-127; Balzan, 1890: 443; Hansen, 1894: 232; Tullgren, 1899a: 179; Tullgren, 1906a: 204; With, 1906: 74-75; Kew, 1911a: 52; Lessert, 1911: 27; Comstock, 1913: 51; Moles and Moore, 1921: 9; Redikorzev, 1924b: 25; Pratt, 1927: 410; Väänänen, 1928a: 16.

Obisiinae Sundevall: Stecker, 1874a: 237 (as Obisinae [sic]); Stecker, 1875d: 88 (as Obisinae [sic]); Simon, 1879a: 50; Tömösváry, 1882b: 214 (as (as Obisiina [sic]); Hansen, 1884: 533-534; Daday, 1888: 127; Hansen, 1894: 232; With, 1906: 75-76; Warburton, 1909: 437-438; Lessert, 1911: 27; Redikorzev, 1924b: 25; Väänänen, 1928a: 16.

Neobisiidae Chamberlin, 1930: 9; Chamberlin, 1931a: 215-217; Beier, 1932a: 76-77; Beier, 1932g: 182-183; Chamberlin, 1935b: 479; Roewer, 1937: 244; Beier, 1939f: 167; Hoff, 1949b: 444; G.O. Evans and Browning, 1954: 10; Petrunkevitch, 1955: 81; Hoff, 1956b: 2; Morikawa, 1960: 112; Dubinin, 1962: 441; Meinertz, 1962: 46; Beier, 1963b: 80; Murthy and Ananthakrishnan, 1977: 28-29; Muchmore, 1979a: 194; Muchmore, 1982a: 97; Legg and Jones, 1988: 74; Harvey, 1991a: 323; Gärdenfors and Wilander, 1992: 28; Harvey, 1992c: 1410-1411.