Walnut Orb-legged Harvestman
The walnut orb-legged harvestman (Dicranopalpus ramosus) is a small harvestman with forked palps that spread across Europe from the Iberian Peninsula during the twentieth century.
The walnut orb-legged harvestman (Dicranopalpus ramosus) is a small harvestman with forked palps that spread across Europe from the Iberian Peninsula during the twentieth century. It reached Britain in the 1950s and is now one of the most common harvestmen there.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Walnut Orb-legged Harvestman 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.
The X-Shaped Resting Pose
In the daytime, the harvestman rests flat against a wall or fence with its legs stretched out in two directions, forming a cross-like "X" or double-line shape that makes it look like a twig. The palps are forked at the tip.
An Unusual Spread
Records show it spreading north over a few decades, helped by climate change and transport. This sort of expansion is commonly tracked by naturalists. See Climate change.
Two Species Hidden In One
Genetic work has indicated that what was called a single species may be a complex of closely related forms.
Walnut Orb-legged Harvestman at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Dicranopalpus ramosus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Arachnida |
| Order | Opiliones |
| Family | Phalangiidae |
| Field Guide group | Ecdysozoa: Arachnida (Spiders, Scorpions & Allies) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Rests on walls with its very long legs spread sideways; forked pedipalps look like an extra pair of tiny legs. |
| Order | Opiliones |
| First British record | 1950s |
See Also
- Brown Harvestman — another European harvestman
- Canestrini's Harvestman — another spreading harvestman