Molecular phylogeny and systematic revision of the Brazilian species of Pocock, 1894 (Arachnida: Uropygi: Mastigoproctinae).

Uropygi is an order of arachnids commonly known as vinegaroons or whip-scorpions. So far, two genera are known to occur in Brazil: Thelyphonellus Pocock, 1894 and Mastigoproctus Pocock, 1894. We examined the morphology of 182 specimens of Brazilian Mastigoproctus and sequenced 42 specimens for phylogenetic analyses, using mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers.

On the Tityus forcipula species group: redescription of Tityus forcipula (Scorpiones, Buthidae), description of a new Andean species, and notes on the taxonomy of the group.

The Tityus forcipula species group has had an intricate taxonomic history, changing its diagnostic characters and composition on several occasions. One of the alleged reasons for this taxonomic uncertainty is the use of superficial characters (i.e.

Phylogenomics of Scorpions Reveal Contemporaneous Diversification of Scorpion Mammalian Predators and Mammal-Active Sodium Channel Toxins.

Scorpions constitute a charismatic lineage of arthropods and comprise more than 2500 described species. Found throughout various tropical and temperate habitats, these predatory arachnids have a long evolutionary history, with a fossil record that began in the Silurian. While all scorpions are venomous, the asymmetrically diverse family Buthidae harbors nearly half the diversity of extant scorpions, and all but one of the 58 species that are medically significant to humans.

Bringing order to a complex system: phenotypic and genotypic evidence contribute to the taxonomy of (Scorpiones, Buthidae) and support the description of a new species.

We present a molecular phylogenetic analysis including a survey for overlooked phenotypic characters. Based on both analysis and characters a new cave-dwelling species is described: Tityus (Tityus) spelaeus from the Russão II cave, Posse, state of Goiás, Central Brazil. Characters such as the glandular regions of the female pectinal basal piece and basal middle lamellae of pectines, and the distribution of the ventral setae of telotarsi I-IV proved to be useful to constructing the taxonomy of species and species groups of .

Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Bertkau, 1880, with taxonomic changes and three new species description (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae).

The type species of Bertkau 1880, , was described based on a juvenile. The holotype is lost. Based on a revision of publications, the genus includes 12 species, all in Brazil.

Three new species of Cosmetidae C.L. Koch, 1839 from South America (Opiliones: Cosmetidae).

Three new species of harvestmen are described based on morphology. Taito mayoruna spec. nov.

Systematics and phylogeography of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest endemic harvestmen Neosadocus Mello-Leitão, 1926 (Arachnida: Opiliones: Gonyleptidae).

Neosadocus harvestmen are endemic to the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Although they are conspicuous and display great morphological variation, their evolutionary history and the biogeographical events underlying their diversification and distribution are still unknown. This contribution about Neosadocus includes the following: a taxonomic revision; a molecular phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial and nuclear markers; an investigation of the genetic structure and species' diversity in a phylogeographical framework.

Revision of the southern Andean genus Sørensen, 1886 (Opiliones, Gonyleptidae, Pachylinae).

Species of the genus Sørensen, 1886 are conspicuous gonyleptids that occur in Chile and Argentina. Here, the genus is revised for the first time and the cladistic analysis based on morphological characters does not corroborate its monophyly unless a phylogenetically unrelated species is excluded (explained further on). A new classification is proposed for the seven species left in the genus and considered valid, of the 13 nominal species previously recognized.

The Phylogeny and Evolution of the Flashiest of the Armored Harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones).

Gonyleptoidea, largely restricted to the Neotropics, constitutes the most diverse superfamily of Opiliones and includes the largest and flashiest representatives of this arachnid order. However, the relationships among its main lineages (families and subfamilies) and the timing of their origin are not sufficiently understood to explain how this tropical clade has been able to colonize the temperate zone. Here, we used transcriptomics and divergence time dating to investigate the phylogeny of Gonyleptoidea.

Two new Colombian harvestmen of the genus Quindina Roewer, 1914 (Opiliones: Nomoclastidae).

Two new Colombian species of Quindina Roewer, 1915 are here described based on genital morphology and external characters. Quindina hermesi sp. nov.

Description of two new species of Progonyleptoidellus (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae), with a cladistic analysis of the genus, an overview of relationships in the K92 group, and taxonomic notes on Deltaspidium.

As part of an ongoing revision and cladistic analysis of the "K92 clade" (Gonyleptidae), the Brazilian genus Progonyleptoidellus Piza, 1940 is revised and two new species from São Paulo State are described: P. bocaina sp. nov.

Phylogeography of Sodreaninae harvestmen (Arachnida: Opiliones: Gonyleptidae): Insights into the biogeography of the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has long been considered a global biodiversity hotspot. In the last decade, the phylogeographic patterns of endemic taxa have been unraveling the biogeographic history of the biome. However, highly diverse invertebrate species have still been poorly studied.

Description of a new species of Eucynorta (Opiliones, Cosmetidae) from Cortés, Honduras.

A new species, Eucynorta rooneyi sp. nov. (Opiliones, Cosmetidae), is described from Parque Nacional Cusuco, Cortés, Honduras, a tropical montane cloud forest habitat.

Redescription of Juticus furcidens Roewer, 1943 (Opiliones: Gonyleptidae), with a discussion of its relationships in the subfamily Gonyleptinae.

As part of an ongoing revision of the largest gonyleptid subfamily, Pachylinae, we examined Juticus furcidens Roewer, 1943. This is an elusive species mentioned only in catalogues after its description. In this paper, we redescribe it according to modern standards, including its male genitalia for the first time, which exhibit typical features of the gonyleptid K92 clade.

Historical relationships of areas of endemism of the Brazilian Atlantic rain forest: a cladistic biogeographic analysis of harvestman taxa (Arachnida: Opiliones).

Based on a cladistic biogeographic analysis of 6 species-level phylogenies of harvestman taxa, we searched for congruence in the historical relationships of 12 areas of endemism of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest. We constructed general area cladograms using Primary Brooks Parsimony Analysis (BPA), BPA of nodes, and paralogy-free subtree analysis. These analyses resulted in 6 general area cladograms, that allow to infer a general pattern of the relationships among areas of endemism from the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest.

Revision of Roewer, 1932, with description of two new species (Opiliones: Laniatores: Gonyleptoidea).

Gonyleptid systematics has changed considerably in recent years, thanks to the increasing number of opilionologists and use of new data sources to infer relationships. This scenario promotes revisions of yet unrevised or recently proposed supraspecific groups. In an ongoing revision of the Gonyleptidae subfamilies Pachylinae, Ampycinae and some species of Cranainae (former Cranaidae), we found that Thaumatocranaus Roewer, 1932, a hitherto monotypic cranaine genus, is currently misplaced.

A new highly specialized cave harvestman from Brazil and the first blind species of the genus: Iandumoema smeagol sp. n. (Arachnida, Opiliones, Gonyleptidae).

A new species of troglobitic harvestman, Iandumoema smeagol sp. n., is described from Toca do Geraldo, Monjolos municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil.

Taxonomic notes on Holcobunus Roewer, 1910, with descriptions of three new species, and new records for Holcobunus nigripalpis Roewer, 1910 (Opiliones: Eupnoi: Sclerosomatidae).

Three new Brazilian species of Holcobunus Roewer, 1910 are described, thus increasing the total number of species in the genus to five: Holcobunus bicornutus Mello-Leitão, 1940, H. nigripalpis Roewer, 1910, Holcobunus dissimilis sp. nov.

Revision of the genus Ferkeria Roewer, 1947, with the description of a new species (Opiliones: Laniatores: Cosmetidae).

A new diagnosis for the cosmetid genus Ferkeria Roewer, 1947 is proposed. The type species, F. vestita Roewer, 1947 is redescribed and a new species, Ferkeria flavicoxae sp.

A protocol for the delimitation of areas of endemism and the historical regionalization of the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest using harvestmen distribution data.

The concept of areas of endemism (AoEs) has rarely been discussed in the literature, even though the use of methods to ascertain them has recently increased. We introduce a grid-based protocol for delimiting AoEs using alternative criteria for the recognition of AoEs that are empirically tested with harvestmen species distributions in the Atlantic Rain Forest. Our data, comprising 778 records of 123 species, were analysed using parsimony analysis of endemicity and endemicity analysis on four different grids (two cell sizes and two cell placements).

The poorly known genus Roewer, 1913 revisited (Opiliones: Cranaidae).

Background: The distinction of genera in Cranaidae (as in many other Gonyleptoidea) is traditionally made on the basis of a combination of armature of scutal areas, tarsomere counts, and some secondary sexual structures (which may vary among males). This historically led to the creation of non-natural groups of species as meaningless genera. Here some nominal genera of Cranaidae are addressed, and this paucity of diagnostic characters is alleviated with more detailed diagnoses and descriptions.

Scorpion sheds 'tail' to escape: consequences and implications of autotomy in scorpions (Buthidae: Ananteris).

Autotomy, the voluntary shedding or detachment of a body part at a determined cleavage plane, is a common anti-predation defense mechanism in several animal taxa, including arthropods. Among arachnids, autotomy has been observed in harvestmen, mites, and spiders, always involving the loss of legs. Autotomy of the opisthosoma (abdomen) was recently reported in a single species of the Neotropical buthid scorpion genus Ananteris Thorell, 1891, but few details were revealed.

Three new species of Thrasychiroides Soares & Soares, 1947 from Brazilian Mountains (Opiliones, Eupnoi, Neopilionidae).

Three new species of the genus Thrasychiroides are described from the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest mountains: Thrasychiroides moporanga sp. nov. (type locality: Reserva Biologica de Alto da Serra de Paranapiacaba, State of São Paulo), T.

Phylogeny of harvestmen family Gonyleptidae inferred from a multilocus approach (Arachnida: Opiliones).

Gonyleptidae is the second most diverse harvestmen family and the most studied in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology. Despite this, few phylogenetic studies have focused on gonyleptids, and those are based on a very limited number of taxa. We addressed this gap by constructing a phylogenetic hypothesis of the family using 101 taxa from all 16 gonyleptid subfamilies and four mitochondrial and nuclear loci (COI, 28S rRNA, 12S rRNA, and 16S rRNA).

Revision of the cranaid genera Phalangodus, Iquitosa and Aguaytiella (Opiliones: Laniatores: Gonyleptoidea).

The monotypic genus Temucus Roewer, 1943, originally placed in Pachylinae (Gonyleptidae) is transferred to the Cranainae (Cranaidae) and synonymized with Phalangodus Gervais, 1842, therefore Phalangodus palpiconus (Roewer, 1943) comb. nov. is proposed.