Catalog of Cyphophthalmi

The suborder Cyphophthalmi includes ca. 170 described species and subspecies of small Opiliones ranging from about 1-6 mm in length, found worldwide, with a rather ancient distribution. The family Sironidae is distributed in Japan, Europe and North America. The family Pettalidae follows a typical temperate Gondwanan distribution. The family Troglosironidae, endemic to New Caledonia, is the sister group to the family Neogoveidae, found in tropical South America, West Africa and the SE USA. The family Ogoveidae is endemic to West Africa where it co-occurs with members of Neogoveidae. The family Stylocellidae is restricted to Sundaland and Wallacea, reaching as far North as China. The low dispersal ability of Cyphophthalmi results in one of the highest degrees of endemism of any animal groups known to me. About 60% of the described species are only known from the type locality, although this number may also reflect the difficulty in finding these cryptic leaf-litter-inhabitants. Another interesting aspect of the cyphophthalmid diversity is their ability to undergo explosive radiations, as represented by the pettalids of New Zealand (with about 20% of the World described diversity!), Afromontane forests of South Africa, and by the sironids from the Balkans. Cyphophthalmi constitute an excellent example for studying aspects of biodiversity, endemism, biogeography, and evolutionary history.开气门亚目（Cyphophthalmi）包含约170个已描述的物种及亚种，均为体长1至6毫米的小型盲蛛（Opiliones），广布全球且分布历史极为古老。西罗尼科（Sironidae）的分布范围涵盖日本、欧洲与北美。佩塔利科（Pettalidae）呈现典型的冈瓦纳温带分布格局。洞西罗尼科（Troglosironidae）为新喀里多尼亚特有类群，其姊妹群为新戈维科（Neogoveidae），后者分布于热带南美、西非及美国东南部。奥戈维科（Ogoveidae）为西非特有，与新戈维科类群同域分布。柱形器科（Stylocellidae）的分布局限于巽他陆架与华莱士区，最北可达中国境内。开气门亚目极低的扩散能力，使其成为已知动物类群中特有性程度最高的类群之一。目前已描述的物种中，约60%仅在模式产地被记录，这一比例或同时反映出这类隐匿性枯叶栖息类群的发现难度。开气门亚目类群多样性的另一有趣特征是其具备爆发式辐射演化的能力，新西兰的佩塔利科类群（占全球已描述多样性的约20%！）、南非的非洲山地森林类群，以及巴尔干半岛的西罗尼科类群均为典型代表。开气门亚目是研究生物多样性、特有性、生物地理学及演化历史的绝佳模型类群。