Cryptomaster leviathan

{{Short description|Species of harvestman/daddy longlegs}}

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| image = Opiliones, Laniatores, F. Cladonychiidae, Cryptomaster leviathan (2404994162).jpg

| image_caption =

| taxon = Cryptomaster leviathan

| authority =Briggs, 1969

}}

Cryptomaster leviathan is an opilionid arachnid known from southeastern Oregon.{{cite journal|last1=Starrett|first1=James|last2=Derkarabetian|first2=Shahan|last3=Richart|first3=Casey H.|last4=Cabrero|first4=Allan|last5=Hedin|first5=Marshal|title=A new monster from southwest Oregon forests: Cryptomaster behemoth sp. n. (Opiliones, Laniatores, Travunioidea)|journal=ZooKeys|date=2016|issue=555|pages=11–35|doi=10.3897/zookeys.555.6274|url=https://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=6274|pmid=26877685|pmc=4740820|doi-access=free}} It is named after the Leviathan of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible due to its large body size compared to most travunioid Laniatores.

Like its relative C. behemoth, it is found in mature coniferous or mixed coniferous and hardwood forests.{{cite news|title='Monster spider' discovered in Oregon called Cryptomaster Behemoth - BBC Newsbeat|work=BBC News|date=27 January 2016|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35418208/monster-spider-discovered-in-oregon-called-cryptomaster-behemoth|accessdate=2016-01-29}} However, it has also been found in disturbed forests and forests with few conifers. It is often found under decaying logs and stumps and in the leaf litter of maple trees and Polystichum ferns.

References

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Category:Harvestmen

Category:Animals described in 1969

Category:Endemic fauna of Oregon

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