Paratricommatus infernalis (Opiliones: Cryptogeobiidae): a new troglobitic harvestman from southeastern Brazil

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Paratricommatus infernalis (Opiliones: Cryptogeobiidae): a new troglobitic harvestman from southeastern Brazil

Abstract

A new troglobitic species belonging to the genus Paratricommatus Piza, 1943 (Cryptogeobiidae), was found in a cave in the Pains municipality, Minas Gerais state, Brazil, and is described here. Paratricommatus infernalis sp. nov. is distinguished from all other species in the genus by having the IV femur 1.5–2.5 longer than the dorsal shield (instead of the IV femur shorter than the dorsal shield) and small eyes with reduced pigmentation. This new species presents several troglomorphic traits, such as elongated legs and different degrees of reduction in integumentary and ocular pigmentation, in addition to being absent in epigean environments. Thus, it is considered a troglobitic species and may represent a relic, as evidenced by its geographic isolation from other Cryptogeobiidae species.

Lais Furtado Oliveira, Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira "Paratricommatus infernalis (Opiliones: Cryptogeobiidae): a new troglobitic harvestman from southeastern Brazil," The Journal of Arachnology, 53(2), 92-99, (17 September 2025) https://doi.org/10.1636/JoA-S-22-055