Work

Egg‐Carrying and Cheliceral Comb in Ibaloniinae Harvestmen From the Solomon Islands (Opiliones: Podoctidae)

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Four new species of Ibaloniinae harvestmen are described from the Solomon Islands, Melanesia. Based on the original diagnosis of Euibalonius Roewer, 1915, and description of E. maculatus (Roewer, 1915), this material appeared related to that genus. However, examination of syntype photographs of the type species E. maculatus confirmed the validity of Euibalonius , here revalidated from the synonymy of Ibalonius Karsch, 1880, while simultaneously revealing that the Solomon Islands specimens differ substantially from E. maculatus and cannot be accommodated in that genus. The new genus Kakamora gen. nov. is therefore described for the Solomon Islands material. A revised diagnosis of Euibalonius is provided, and a key to the known species of the genus Kakamora is presented. All newly described species bear a cheliceral comb, a structure only recently documented in Podoctidae, and which we also record here for two additional Ibaloniinae species, suggesting broader occurrence within the subfamily. In one of the new species, males were found carrying eggs firmly attached to their femora and tibiae, a behaviour here interpreted as paternal care. This represents a further case of egg carrying by male podoctids, offering a counterpoint to previous doubts about the meaning of this behaviour in the family.

Source: Austral Entomology

DOI: 10.1111/aen.70075

Authors: Adriano B. Kury, Glauco Machado, Bruno A. Buzatto, Esau Kekeubata, Miguel Medrano

Institutions: Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Universidade de São Paulo, Flinders University, Western Australian Museum

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

Funder: Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico