#lukjonis

PSEUDOSCORPION with eggs Neobisium carcinoides ©Lukjonis/Lukas Jonaitis

Lukas writes: We don't have very many exotic species of arthropods in Lithuania. But I'm still lucky, because the most exotic species are small like this pseudoscorpion. It is about 2-4mm in size. And it is difficult to photograph such a small creature which almost always moves... The most interesting thing that it was carrying eggs.

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Species of the Neobisiidae are widely distributed in Europe. The best known pseudoscorpion in northern Europe, Neobisium carcinoides, is frequent in a wide array of habitats. It is probably the pseudoscorpion with the most northernly distribution, and is the sole species found in natural habitats in Iceland and the Faroe islands.

Characters of family: Body length range from 1.0-6.0 mm (Beier 1963). Tergites undivided. Cephalothorax without transverse grooves, rectangular or roughly square. Carapace with one or two pairs of eyes, a few cave-dwelling species have none. A small, more or less triangular process on the front margin of the carapace (epistome) is present in most species. Chelicers large, about half the length of the carapace. Pedipalps smooth or partly granulate. Only fixed finger with poison apparatus. Teeth of pedipalpal fingers closely set and uniformly sized. All tarsi two-segmented. Using external characters to determine sex of specimens is difficult for members of this family.

Sources: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38628972@N05/6100685150/ and http://www.jorgenlissner.dk/pseudoscorpions.aspx

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Yellowhead Jawfish with eggs

Gas Flame Nudibranch Eggs