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The genus Spaeleoleptes was proposed by H. Soares in 1966 to accommodate the first Brazilian troglobitic species of harvestmen, Spaeleoleptes spaeleus H. Soares, 1966. In this work, we redescribe this species, including digital images of the type material and drawings of the male genitalia. Since its description, Spaeleoleptes has remained monotypic, and after 56 years, herein is described the second species of the genus, the troglobitic Spaeleoleptes gimli sp. nov. Both species share sexually dimorphic legs I and II with modified regions and swelling on the tibiae and patellae I and II; a penis with robust conductors covering all or part of the capsula interna and a capsula interna with two lateral projections. They are clearly separated by the shape of the modified region of the tibia; by the presence of an apical projection on the apical lamina of the pars distalis in S. spaeleus; and the lateral projections of the capsula interna, which is flattened in S. gimli. Spaeleoleptes gimli greatly increases the distributional range of the genus, as it is now recorded from caves located in two Brazilian phytophysiognomies from the Cerrado of Minas Gerais to the Caatinga of Bahia.
Two new opilionid species from suborder Cyphophthalmi, family Sironidae, Siro franzi Karaman & Raspotnig sp. nov. and Siro ozimeci Karaman sp. nov., from Austria and Croatia respectively, are described and illustrated. Both species show a close relation to two other relict sironid species from the southern and eastern parts of the Alps, Siro valleorum and Siro crassus. All four species are treated here as a monophyletic, alpine group of genus Siro, opposed to the remaining two European sironids, S. rubens and S. carpaticus (palaeoeuropean Siro group). The history of the alpine Siro group parallels the history of a part of the dynamic European archipelago in the Mediterranean Tethys area, which became a part of the Alpine orogeny. Diversification of the alpine Siro group is the result of the orogenic evolution of the Alps, linked to the Austroalpine and South Alpine tectonic units.
Revision of the spider genus Stygopholcus (Araneae, Pholcidae), endemic to the Balkan Peninsula
(2021)
The genus Stygopholcus Kratochvíl, 1932 is endemic to the Balkan Peninsula and includes only four nominal species: the epigean S. photophilus Senglet, 1971 in the south (Greece to Albania) and the ‘northern clade’ consisting of three troglophile species ranging from Croatia to Albania: S. absoloni (Kulczyński, 1914); S. skotophilus Kratochvíl, 1940; and S. montenegrinus Kratochvíl, 1940 (original rank re-established). We present redescriptions of all species, including extensive data on ultrastructure, linear morphometrics of large samples, and numerous new localities. We georeference previously published localities as far as possible, correct several published misidentifications, and clarify nomenclatorial problems regarding the authority of Stygopholcus and the identity of the type species S. absoloni. We suggest that the ‘northern clade’ has a relict distribution, resulting from past and present geologic and climatic factors. Future work on Stygopholcus should focus on the southern Dinarides, combining dense sampling with massive use of molecular data.