Banksula melones

Taxobox
name = Melones cave harvestman


status = VU | status_system = IUCN2.3
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Opiliones
subordo = Laniatores
infraordo = Grassatores
familia = Phalangodidae
genus = "Banksula"
species = "B. melones"
binomial = "Banksula melones"
binomial_authority = Briggs, 1974
synonyms =

"Banksula melones" is a species of harvestman in family Phalangodidae. It is endemic to caves along the Stanislaus River of California, USA.

This, with a body size of only slightly more than 2 mm, minute harvestman lives only in caves. Its body is colored yellowish-orange, with white to yellowish white appendages. It appears in the same caves as "Banksula grahami", which is slightly smaller and has no well-developed eyes. In fact, "B. melones" has the best eyes in the whole genus, except for "B. incredula", which is the only species that does not inhabit caves. "B. melones" has been occasionally found near cave openings.

When disturbed, they tend to remain motionless for up to several minutes. They can probably live for several years, which is quite long for a harvestman, with molts occurring only every several months. They have been shown to survive without food for up to 43 days (Rudolph, 1979). They prey on very small arthropods, preferring springtails over booklice.

Conservation

In the late 1970s, the caves of the region were threatened by the construction of the New Melones Dam. "B. melones", "B. grahami" and about 30 other cave-dwelling species were therefore transplanted from McLean's Cave to an abandoned mine shaft, where the "Banksula" species reproduced well at first. However, ten years later, no "B. grahami" was found, while more than 50 individuals of "B. melones" were counted. Again ten years later, in 1996, only six individuals were left. However, the species was since found in a number of nearby caves.

References

* (1974). Phalangodidae from caves in the Sierra Nevada (California) with a redescription of the type genus (Opiliones: Phalangodidae). "Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences" 108: 8
* (1979). Final report on the status of the Melones cave harvestman in the Stanislaus River drainage. Contract #14-16-0009-79-009, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
* & aut|Ubick, D.: Melones cave harvestman - [http://www.dfg.ca.gov/bdb/pdfs/invert/Arachnids/Banksula_melones.pdf PDF]
* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1996. [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/2548/all "Banksula melones"] . [http://www.iucnredlist.org 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ] Downloaded on 09 August 2007.

Further reading

* (1978). Final Report on the New Melones Cave Harvestman Transplant. [http://www.utexas.edu/tmm/sponsored_sites/biospeleology/pdf/1978%20CA%20ecotrans.pdf PDF]
* & aut|Briggs, T.S. (2002). The harvestman family Phalangodidae 4. A review of the genus "Banksula" (Opiliones, Laniatores). "The Journal of Arachnology" 30: 435-451. [http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_Congress/JoA_v30_n2/arac-30-02-435.pdf PDF]