Australian Biological Resources Study

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Family PETTALIDAE Shear, 1980


Compiler and date details

December 2010 - ABRS following advice from Christopher Taylor, Curtin University, Western Australia

31 August 2003 - Glenn S. Hunt, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Mark S. Harvey, Western Australian Museum, Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Introduction

Pettalids are an austral group of cyphophthalmids, with a disjunct distribution in South Africa, Sri Lanka, southern Australia, New Zealand and South America (Shear 1980). The Australian fauna currently consists of six species in two genera, of which only Austropurcellia Juberthie is endemic to Australia.

Pettalids, like other cyphophthalmids, are small heavily sclerotised opilionids with elevated ozopores on the sides of the cephalothorax. They occur in leaf litter and moss, and in Australia are found in eastern and south-western Australia.

Boyer & Giribet revised the family and excluded the genera Neopurcellia Forster, 1948 and Rakaia Hirst, 1925 from the Australian fauna, reassigning N. capricornia Davies, 1977 to Austropurcellia. These are the only two genera found in New Zealand.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
20-Aug-2014 PETTALIDAE Shear, 1980 14-Aug-2014 REVIEWED Lyn Randall
07-May-2013 10-Dec-2012 MODIFIED
12-Feb-2010 (import)