CAVE HARVESTMEN FROM JAMAICA 
(OPILIONES : PHALANGODIDAE) 
By Maria Ram b la*' 
Instituto de Biologia Apicada, University of Barcelona, 
Barcelona, Spain 
Numerous islands of the West Indies are composed largely of 
limestone, in which many and often large caves and cave systems have 
developed. An abundant fauna of obligately cave-inhabiting inver- 
tebrates has been found in these caves. The checklist of Nicholas 
(1962) is an introduction to these interesting and highly specialized 
animals. Best known is the cave fauna of the largest island, Cuba. 
Nothing is reported of the cave fauna of the second largest island, 
Hispaniola. The only obligate cave inhabitant known from Puerto 
Rico is an amphipod (Holsinger and Peck, 1968). Two cavernicolous 
crustaceans, a crab and a shrimp, are reported from Jamaica (Hart- 
noil, 1964). The three new species of opilionids described in this 
paper include the first known cave-specialized terrestrial invertebrates 
from Jamaica. 
The opilionids reported on in this paper were collected during a 
preliminary survey of the invertebrate fauna of Jamaican caves, 
undertaken in April, 1968, by Stewart B. Peck of the Museum of 
Comparative Zoology, assisted by Mr. Alan Fiske. In six days eight 
collecting visits were made to seven caves in the western half of the 
island. A summary report on the Jamaican cave fauna will be pre- 
pared by Mr. Peck at a later date. 
The opilionids described here are all members of the family Phalan- 
godidae, subfamily Phalangodinae ; two genera are represented : 
Stygnomma with one new species, and Cynortina with two new 
species, very closely related. 
The types are deposited in the collection of the Museum of Com- 
parative Zoology. Some paratypes are deposited in the collection of 
the Instituto de Biologia Aplicada, University of Barcelona, Barce- 
lona, Spain. 
*1 am indebted to Dr. Herbert W. Levi for placing at my disposal the 
specimens reported on in this paper and I gratefully thank Mr. Stewart B. 
Peck and Dr. Herbert W. Levi and Mrs. L. R. Levi for their assistance in 
preparing this manuscript. Field work by Mr. Peck supported by Evolu- 
tionary Biology Training Grant GB 3167, Prof. Reed C. Rollins, principal 
investigator, Department of Biology, Harvard University. 
Manuscript received by the editor January 19, 1970 
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