Work

Amid the fallen leaves: Intense collecting in the Northern Atlantic Forest reveals new minute harvestmen species (Opiliones: Stygnidae) within the Area of Endemism of Pernambuco

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Stygnids represent one of the most diverse harvestman families, with many endemic species in the Area of Endemism of Pernambuco, a pattern increasingly evident by intensified sampling in the region over the years. The area is also recognised for hosting a group of understudied minute leaf‐litter dwellers stygnids, represented by the following monotypic genera: Gaibulus Roewer, 1943; Iguarassua Roewer, 1943; and Kaapora Pinto‐da‐Rocha, 1997. In this study, we describe a male specimen of Iguarassua schubarti Roewer, 1943; describe two new Iguarassua species, Iguarassua brejoensis sp. nov. and Iguarassua villarreali sp. nov. ; examine the type series of Kaapora minutissimus (Roewer, 1943); and discuss the overall relationships of the leaf‐litter Stygnidae in the Northern Atlantic Forest. We propose K. minutissimus syn. nov. to be a junior synonym of I. schubarti , thereby synonymising Kaapora syn. nov. under Iguarassua , and identify key diagnostic characters related to pedipalp setae curvature and penis morphology, indicating that all current Atlantic Forest leaf‐litter stygnids, including Gaibulus , are possibly monophyletic, likely placed in Stygninae and are most closely related to Pickeliana Mello‐Leitão, 1932.

Source: Austral Entomology

DOI: 10.1111/aen.70024

Authors: Nícolas E. V. Saraiva, Ricardo Pinto‐da‐Rocha, Marcio B. DaSilva

Institutions: Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Universidade de São Paulo

Language: English

Topic: Spider Taxonomy and Behavior Studies

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,400