Ricinulei
| Ricinulei Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| Cryptocellus goodnighti | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Ricinulei Thorell, 1876 |
| Family: | Ricinoididae Ewing, 1929 |
| Exant genera | |
|
For fossil genera, see text | |
| Distribution map of extant species. | |
Ricinulei is a small order of arachnids. Like most arachnids, they are predatory; eating small arthropods. They occur today in west-central Africa (Ricinoides) and the Americas (Cryptocellus and Pseudocellus) from Brazil to southern Texas, where they inhabit either leaf-litter or caves. As of 2022, 103 extant species of ricinuleids have been described worldwide, all in the single family Ricinoididae. Due to their obscurity they do not have a proper common-name, though in academic literature they are occasionally referred to as hooded tickspiders.
In addition to the three living genera, Ricinulei has a fossil-record spanning over 300 million years, including fossils from the Late Carboniferous of Euramerica and the Cretaceous Burmese amber.