Pseudoscorpions of Canada
Christopher M. Buddle
Department of Natural Resource Sciences
McGill University, Macdonald Campus
21,111 Lakeshore Road
Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Québec H9X 3V9
Email: chris.buddle(at)mcgill.ca
Profile
This is a summary of pseudoscorpion families and species currently known from Canada, with provincial records listed, and general habitat affinities. This list is generated from a variety of published and unpublished records (see references below); for more details, contact the author.
|
Family and species |
Province* |
Habitat (taken primarily from Muchmore 1990a) |
|
Chthoniidae |
|
|
|
Apochthonius moestus (Banks) |
ON |
Moist litter |
|
Apochthonius minimus R.O. Schuster |
BC |
Moist litter |
|
Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) tetrachelatus (Preyssler) |
ON |
Moist litter and debris |
|
Mundochthonius rossi Hoff |
MB |
Cool, moist litter |
|
Mundochthonius sp. |
BC |
- |
|
Pseudogarypidae |
|
|
|
Pseudogarypus banksi Jacot |
QC |
Dry areas, rocks, frass, tree-holes |
|
Garypidae |
|
|
|
Larca notha Hoff |
SK |
Litter, frass, mammal nests |
|
Neobisiidae |
|
|
|
Halobisium occidentale Beier |
BC |
Littoral zones, under rocks, litter |
|
Microbisium brunneum (Hagen) |
MB, ON, QC, NL |
Bogs, boreal forest litter |
|
Microbisium parvulum (Banks) |
MB, ON, QC |
Woodland litter |
|
“Microcreagris” sp. |
BC |
- |
|
Syarinidae |
|
|
|
Syarinus enhuycki Muchmore |
ON |
Under rocks, damp litter |
|
Syarinus palmeni Kaisila |
NL |
Under rocks, damp litter |
|
Syarinus obscurus (Banks) |
BC, SK, YT |
Deep in soil, litter |
|
Cheliferidae |
|
|
|
Chelifer cancroides (L.) |
BC, AB, MB, ON, QC, NL, NS |
Houses, building, barns |
|
Dactylochelifer copiosus Hoff |
NS |
Dry litter |
|
Dactylochelifer silvestris Hoff |
BC |
Dry litter |
|
Paisochelifer callus Hoff |
NB |
Moist litter, bird nests |
|
Chernetidae |
|
|
|
Americhernes oblongus (Say) |
AB |
Under bark of trees, logs |
|
Chernes lymphatus (Hoff) |
ON |
Moist litter |
|
Dendrochernes morosus (Banks) |
SK |
Under bark, phoretic on insects |
|
Hesperochernes canadensis Hoff |
AB |
Organic debris, with animals |
|
Hesperochernes tamiae Beier |
QC |
Organic debris, with animals |
|
Lamprochernes minor Hoff |
QC, BC |
Moist organic debris, phoretic on insects |
|
Wyochernes arcticus Muchmore |
YT |
Under stones, rocks |
|
Dinocheirus sp. |
AB |
- |
|
*Provincial/Territorial abbreviations are as follows: AB, Alberta; BC, British Columbia; MB, Manitoba; NB, New Brunswick; NL, Newfoundland and Labrador; NT, Northwest Territories; NS, Nova Scotia; ON, Ontario; PE, Prince Edward Island; QC, Quebec; SK, Saskatchewan; YT, Yukon. |
||
References:
Dondale, C.D. 1979. Opiliones, Pseudoscorpionida, Scorpionida, Solfugae. Pp. 250-251, in Canada and its Insect Life (Danks H.V., ed). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, No. 108.
Harvey M.S. 1990. Catalogue of the Pseudoscorpionida (Mahnert V, ed). Manchester Univ. Press.
Hoff C.C. 1958. List of the Pseudoscorpions of North America North of Mexico. American Museum Novitates 1875: 1-50.
Kaisila J. 1964. Some pseudoscorpions from Newfoundland. Annales Zoologici Fennici 1: 52-54.
Koponen S. and M.J. Sharkey. 1988. Northern records of Microbisium brunneum (Pseudoscorpionida, Neobisiidae) from eastern Canada. Journal of Arachnology 16: 388-390.
Muchmore, W.B. 1990a. Pseudoscorpionida. Pp 503-527, in Soil Biology Guide (Dindal D.L., ed). John Wiley & Sons.
Muchmore, W.B. 1990b. A pseudoscorpion from arctic Canada (Pseudoscorpionida: Chernetidae). Canadian Journal of Zoology 68: 389-390.
Nelson, S., Jr. 1975. A systematic study of Michigan Pseudoscorpionida (Arachnida). American Midland Naturalist 93: 257-301.
This article is a reproduction of an article that appeared in the Newsletter of the Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods), vol. 24(1): 12-16, Spring 2005. The original article may be found HERE.