An integrative description of Euscorpius diagorasi sp. n. from Rhodes, Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae)

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  An integrative description of Euscorpius diagorasi sp. n. from Rhodes, Greece (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae) Abstract The genus  Euscorpius  Thorell, 1876 comprises a diverse and taxonomically challenging group of scorpions in the Mediterranean, with Greece representing one of its principal centers of diversity. In this study, we provide an integrative description of  Euscorpius diagorasi   sp. n. , a new species from Rhodes Island, Greece. The new species is described on the basis of adult male and female morphology and mitochondrial COI sequence data. It is a small oligotrichous species characterized by a total length of approximately 21–25 mm, pale yellow to light brown coloration with darker reddish-brown pedipalps, pectinal tooth count of 8 in the male and 7 in the females, Pv = 7–8, Pe-et = 5–6, and a distinct mitochondrial lineage. Phylogenetic analyses based on COI recovered the Rhodian specimens as a strongly supported monophyletic lineage, sister to...

Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae)

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Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae)

Abstract

Micropholcus Deeleman-Reinhold & Prinsen, 1987 is one of only two Pholcidae genera known to occur both in the Old and New Worlds. However, there are major morphological and ecological differences among geographically separate groups of species, and it was mainly molecular data that have resulted in our current view of uniting all these species into a single genus. In the Old World, only four species have previously been described. Here, current knowledge about Old World Micropholcus is reviewed, redescribing three of the four previously known species, and describing twelve new species, originating from Saudi Arabia (M. dhahran Huber, sp. nov., M. harajah Huber, sp. nov., M. alfara Huber, sp. nov., M. abha Huber, sp. nov., M. tanomah Huber, sp. nov., M. bashayer Huber, sp. nov., M. maysaan Huber, sp. nov.), Oman (M. darbat Huber, sp. nov., M. shaat Huber, sp. nov.), Morocco (M. ghar Huber, sp. nov., M. khenifra Huber, Lecigne & Lips, sp. nov.), and the Philippines (M. bukidnon Huber, sp. nov.). We provide an exploratory species delimitation analysis based on CO1 barcodes, extensive SEM data, and first records of Acroceridae (Diptera) larvae in Pholcidae, extracted from book lungs.

Huber BA, Meng G (2024) Old World Micropholcus spiders, with first records of acrocerid parasitoids in Pholcidae (Araneae). ZooKeys 1213: 95-182. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1213.133178