124 WHIP-SCORPIONS AND OTHERS 



her body bent at right angles, with thorax vertical and abdomen 

 horizontal. 



Order phrynichida (=amblypygi) 



Classification and distribution 



The Phrynichida differ from other Tedipalps' in lacking any 

 caudal appendage and in having the opisthosoma joined to the 

 cephalothorax by a slender pedicel. The carapace is entire with a 

 pair of median, and three pairs of lateral eyes, and there are three 



Fig. 29. Phrynichida ( = Amblypygi), Charon grayi (after Kano, 

 1937) and Charinus milloti (after Millot, 1949.) (Body lengths, 



2 cm.) 



thoracic sternites. The pedipalps are stout raptatory organs armed 

 with strong spines and terminating in a movable hook. The flexible 

 tip of the legs of the first pair is very long and composed of many 

 segments: it is used as a tactile sense organ. With their flattened 

 bodies and sombre colours, these animals bear a superficial resem- 

 blance to crab spiders. The abdomen is composed of twelve seg- 

 ments, the last one forming a pygidium. The size varies from 8 to 

 45 mm in length. 



The distribution of the tailless whip-scorpions is largely con- 

 ditioned by their water requirements and they are found only in 

 the more humid regions of the tropics and sub-tropics. There are 

 two families, the Charontidae and the Tarantulidae. The former 



