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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.
Nemastoma bidentatum Roewer, 1914 is a complex of closely related litter-dwelling harvestmen, characterized by a penis glans with two pairs of lateral lancet-like spines, and a femur IV with a saw-like series of pointed tubercles. Here we a) revise the hitherto known taxa within the N. bidentatum complex, and b) analyze in detail the relations among the taxa in Slovenia. The study revealed that the N. bidentatum complex consists of four species: N. bidentatum Roewer, 1914 s. str., N. relictum Gruber & Martens, 1968 stat. nov., N. pluridentatum (Hadži, 1973) stat. nov. and N. kozari Novak, Kozel, Podlesnik & Raspotnig sp. nov. Moreover, N. bidentatum s. str. consists of six subspecies: N. bidentatum bidentatum Roewer, 1914, N. bidentatum sparsum Gruber & Martens, 1968, N. bidentatum gruberi Novak, Slana Novak, Kozel & Raspotnig ssp. nov., N. bidentatum martensi Novak, Slana Novak & Raspotnig ssp. nov., N. bidentatum schmidti Novak, Raspotnig & Slana Novak ssp. nov. and N. bidentatum sneznikensis Novak, Komposch, Slana Novak & Raspotnig ssp. nov. In Slovenia, the six subspecies of N. bidentatum form a parapatric complex around N. bidentatum schmidti. Hybrids occur in the contact zones between adjacent subspecies, but they are missing between distant subspecies. The taxonomic distinction of lineages / subspecies is congruent with their distribution patterns. With six of the nine taxa present, Slovenia is considered the center of the N. bidentatum complex speciation. At the time being, this complex is the most diversified harvestman group on a subspecific and young-species level and provides important details on speciation processes in Opiliones.
Der bodenbewohnende Milbenkanker Cyphophthalmus duricorius Joseph, 1868 (Fam. Sironidae) galt mehr als 60 Jahre lang als die einzige in Österreich vorkommende Art der Weberknecht-Unterordnung Cyphophthalmi. Neuere Aufsammlungen zeigen jedoch, dass mindestens zwei weitere Cyphophthalmi-Arten in Österreich existieren: 1) Siro cf. crassus Novak & Giribet, 2006 wurde an einer Lokalität in der SW Steiermark nahe der slowenischen Grenze gefunden und repräsentiert eine zweite Gattung von Sironiden in Österreich. 2) Ein weiterer, morphologisch distinkter Sironide („Sironidae gen. et sp. nov.?“) − derzeit noch unbeschrieben und taxonomisch nicht zugeordnet − stammt aus Böden im Grenzgebiet Steiermark-Kärnten. Obwohl bislang kein syntopes Vorkommen belegt ist, können alle drei Arten in einem kleinen Areal von wenigen Quadratkilometern gefunden werden.