A reconsideration of inapplicable characters, and an approximation with step-matrix recoding.

Evidence for phylogenetic analysis comes in the form of observed similarities, and trees are selected to minimize the number of similarities that cannot be accounted for by homology (homoplasies). Thus, the classical argument for parsimony directly links homoplasy with explanatory power. When characters are hierarchically related, a first character may represent a primary structure such as tail absence/presence and a secondary (subordinate) character may describe tail colour; this makes tail colour inapplicable when tail is absent.

The South African genus Lepthercus Purcell, 1902 (Araneae: Mygalomorphae): phylogeny and taxonomy.

After more than a century, the genus Lepthercus Purcell, 1902 is revised. Lepthercus dregei Purcell, 1902 and L. rattrayi Hewitt, 1917 are redescribed; with the female of L.

Four new species of Goloboffia (Mygalomorphae: Migidae) from Chile.

The spider family Migidae Simon, 1889 is represented in Chile by three genera: Calathotarsus Simon, 1903, Mallecomigas Goloboff Platnick, 1987 and Goloboffia Griswold Ledford, 2001. In the present study, four new species of Goloboffia from Chile are described, increasing the known diversity and geographic distribution of the genus. Goloboffia megadeth sp.

Four new species of Actinopus (Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae) from Uruguay.

Actinopus specimens from different localities in Uruguay that did not match any of the previously species present in the country were examined, and four new species are described: A. coboi sp. nov.