Taracus marchingtoni
An adult T. marchingtoni clinging to a wall inside Lava River Cave.
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Opiliones
Family:	Taracidae
Genus:	Taracus
Species:	T. marchingtoni
Binomial name
Taracus marchingtoni Shear, 2016

Taracus marchingtoni is a genus of harvestman found in the lava caves of semi-arid and arid regions of central Oregon.^[1] It belongs to the family Taracidae and was first collected by Jean and Wilton Ivie in 1965 in Lava River Cave but not identified as a new species until collected by Neil Marchington of the Oregon High Desert Grotto in 2008.^[1][2] Its range is suspected to be the surrounding areas of Newberry Volcano.^[1] It has enlarged but thin chelicerae, typically equal to or longer than the entire length of the body, and in small-bodied males nearly three times as long.^[1] The harvestman is troglobiotic and has a predominantly white abdomen, black chelicerae, and highly reduced eye size.^[1] T. marchingtoni has been observed feeding on small troglophilic millipedes identified as Plumatyla humerosa of the Conotylidae family.^[1]

See also

• Trogloraptor - a cave-dwelling spider of southern Oregon

References

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