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Short-tailed Whipscorpion (male)

Hubbardia pentapeltis

Description:

Male, nearly transparent, immature arachnid with horizontal stripes on abdomen and very prominent pedipalps. There is a short, narrow stump on the end of the abdomen with a bulbous tip. This was about 1 cm long. "Schizomids are relatively small, soft-bodied arachnids, somewhat similar in appearance to whip scorpions. The prosoma (cephalothorax) is divided into three regions, each covered by plates, the large protopeltidium and the smaller, paired, mesopeltidia and metapeltidia. The name means "split or cleaved middle", referring to the way the thorax is divided into two separate plates. The opisthosoma (abdomen) is a smooth oval of 12 recognizable segments. The first is reduced and forms the pedicel, while the last three are constricted, forming the pygidium. The last segment bears a short whip-like tail or flagellum, consisting of no more than four segments. Like the related orders Thelyphonida, Amblypygi, and Solifugae, the schizomids use only six legs for walking, having modified their first two legs to serve as sensory organs. They also have large well-developed pincer-like pedipalps just before the sensory legs. The hind legs are modified for jumping, as part of their escape response when threatened. Schizomids have no actual eyes, but a few species have vestigial eyespots capable of telling light from dark." - Wikipedia

Habitat:

Under rock in damp area with Fire Ants, Pincer Bugs, Woodlouse and slugs.

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6 Comments

:) Thank you beaker98!

beaker98
beaker98 10 years ago

Creepy looking little guy! I love it!

Thank you Tom!

Tom15
Tom15 10 years ago

Great find and really nice series!

Thank you Lauren! This is only my second time but was happy to spot one a little larger.

LaurenZarate
LaurenZarate 10 years ago

This is really neat! I've never seen one of these before!

San Diego, California, USA

Spotted on Jan 2, 2014
Submitted on Jan 3, 2014

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