Moss Pseudoscorpion
The moss pseudoscorpion (Neobisium carcinoides) is a tiny, pincered arachnid a few millimeters long that lives in moss and leaf litter in European woodlands. It looks like a scorpion without a tail.
The moss pseudoscorpion (Neobisium carcinoides) is a tiny, pincered arachnid a few millimeters long that lives in moss and leaf litter in European woodlands. It looks like a scorpion without a tail.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Moss Pseudoscorpion in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Ecdysozoa lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Hunters in the Litter
The pseudoscorpion stalks springtails and mites in the damp litter and seizes them with its pincers, which contain venom glands. It is harmless to humans.
A Silk Maker
Pseudoscorpions spin silk from glands in their jaws to make small chambers for molting and brooding. Females carry their eggs in a sac under the abdomen.
Soil Biodiversity
Tiny predators like this are common in healthy soils and are indicators of undisturbed woodland. See Book Scorpion.
Moss Pseudoscorpion at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Neobisium carcinoides |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Pseudoscorpiones |
| Family | Neobisiidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Arachnida (Spiders, Scorpions & Allies) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Tiny dark arachnid a few millimeters long with huge pincer-like pedipalps, a flat teardrop abdomen, and no tail or stinger; hunts in moss and leaf litter. |
| Order | Pseudoscorpiones |
| Size | A few millimeters |
See Also
- Book Scorpion — a pseudoscorpion of buildings
- Dune Pseudoscorpion — a coastal pseudoscorpion