Trogulus is a genus of Opiliones (also known as harvestmen) in the family Trogulidae. Harvestmen in the genus have large, elongated and flattened bodies (prosoma and opisthosoma) and a two-segmented tarsus segment on leg II, which distinguishes them from other genera in the family Trogulidae. The legs tend to be short compared to most harvestmen.[1] External morphology tends to be very uniform across species in the genus, making differentiation of species difficult.[2] Species occur in a range of habitats, but are most common in forests where their primary prey, snails, are abundant. Trogulus contains the largest known harvestman by body length, Trogulus torosus.[2]
Taxonomy and systematics
The genus Trogulus is divided into seven species groups[1][3]–groupings of allopatric species with morphological similarities:[4]
T. gypseus SG
T. tricarinatus SG
T. coriziformis SG
T. torosus SG
T. hirtus SG
T. nepaeformis SG
T. squamatus SG
However, genetic analysis indicates that two of the seven species groups listed above are not monophyletic. The T. torosus species group with the monophyletic T. hirtus species group nested within it and the T. gypseus species group which contains the monophyletic T. tricarinatus species group are both paraphyletic.
