Garypus titanius | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
Class: | Arachnida |
Order: | Pseudoscorpiones |
Family: | Garypidae |
Genus: | Garypus |
Species: | G. titanius
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Binomial name | |
Garypus titanius Beier, 1961
[1]
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Garypus titanius, the giant pseudoscorpion, is the largest species of pseudoscorpion—small, scorpion-looking creatures—in the world. Critically endangered, it is restricted to Boatswain Bird Island, a small rocky island off Ascension Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. [2] Pseudoscorpions are venomous arachnids (a group that includes spiders, ticks, and scorpions) and are generally tiny—around 3 mm (.1 in) long. [3] The giant pseudoscorpion, though, can grow to five times that size at 11 mm (.5 in). [4] It lives among seabird colonies, feeding mainly at night on smaller prey such as insects. [5] It belongs to the Garypidae family. [6]
The giant pseudoscorpion is threatened by non-native insects and animals, such as mice. It has died out on the larger Ascension Island, a remote volcanic island and British overseas territory that was discovered in 1501.