The systematics of the pseudoscorpion genus Indohya (Pseudoscorpiones: Hyidae) in Australia.

The pseudoscorpion genus Indohya Beier, 1974 is known to occur in three Gondwanan fragments around the Indian Oceansouthern India, Madagascar and north-western Australiasuggesting that the genus had evolved prior to the breakup of Gondwana and was present on each landmass as they rifted apart during the Mesozoic. The Australian fauna is the most diverse, with nine species previously described from Cape Range and the Kimberley region of north-western Australia. The present study documents the genus Indohya in Australia using a combination of morphology and DNA sequence data.

A systematic revision of Draculoides (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae) of the Pilbara, Western Australia, Part I: the Western Pilbara.

The schizomid fauna of mainland Australia currently comprises 60 species within seven named genera, of which five are endemic to the continent: Attenuizomus Harvey, 2000, Brignolizomus Harvey, 2000, Draculoides Harvey, 1992, Julattenius Harvey, 1992, Notozomus Harvey, 2000. Most Australian schizomids have been described from eastern and northern Australia, but there is also a significant subterranean fauna that has been found in hypogean habitats in the semi-arid Pilbara region of Western Australia. The vast majority of these species can be assigned to the genus Draculoides and this study is the first in a proposed series to revise this highly diverse genus.

Too hot to handle: Cenozoic aridification drives multiple independent incursions of Schizomida (Hubbardiidae) into hypogean environments.

The formation of the Australian arid zone, Australia's largest and youngest major biome, has been recognized as a major driver of rapid evolutionary radiations in terrestrial plants and animals. Here, we investigate the phylogenetic diversity and evolutionary history of subterranean short-tailed whip scorpions (Schizomida: Hubbardiidae), which are a significant faunal component of Western Australian hypogean ecosystems. We sequenced two mitochondrial (12S, COI) and three nuclear DNA markers (18S, 28S, ITS2) from ∼600 specimens, largely from the genera Draculoides and Paradraculoides, including 20 previously named species and an additional 56 newly identified operational taxonomic units (OTUs).