Source: Harry Baker, LIVESCIENCE, 8/16/21


Scientists have created "daddy shortlegs," a stunted version of the common household pest daddy longlegs, by suppressing the genes behind the arachnid's famously elongated limbs. Daddy longlegs, also known as harvestmen, belong to the class Arachnids — a group of eight-legged invertebrates that includes spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites and horseshoe crabs. There are more than 6,500 species of daddy longlegs in the order Opiliones, each of which is characterized by flexible legs that are several times longer than the individual's body.

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