Damon medius

Damon medius
Damon medius from Guinea on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Amblypygi
Family:	Phrynichidae
Genus:	Damon
Species:	D. medius
Binomial name
Damon medius (Herbst, 1797)
Synonyms
Phalangium medium Herbst, 1797 Phrynus bassamensis Lucas, 1858 Phrynus kochii Butler, 1873 Phrynus granulosus Bulter, 1873 Phrynus savatieri Rochebrune, 1883

Damon medius is a species of arachnid of the family Phrynichidae.

Description

Damon medius can reach a body length of 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 in). This strictly arboreal and nocturnal whip spider has a flat body and fragile legs, by which it moves sideways like a crab. In males the front legs are very long and antenniform, much longer than in the females. It has two large, spiny pedipalps, which are larger in the male than the female. It feeds on small insects.

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in West Africa, in Benin, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. It lives in wetlands and rainforests.

References

• Lichtenstein & Herbst, 1797 : Naturgeschichte der Insekten-Gattungen. Solpuga und Phalangium.
• Prendini, L. (2005). Systematics of the group of African whip spiders (Chelicerata: Amblypygi): Evidence from behaviour, morphology and DNA. Organisms Diversity & Evolution, 5, 203-236.

External links

• Biolib
• Catalogue of Life
• AquaPortail
• Liege.mine
• Insects.tamu.edu
• Lorenzo Prendini, Peter Weygoldt & Ward C. Wheeler Systematics of the Damon variegatus group of African whip spiders (Chelicerata: Amblypygi): Evidence from behaviour, morphology and DNA
• Panarthropoda