Remarkable micro-endemism and high congeneric richness: eight new cave-restricted species of Pseudochthonius Balzan, 1892 (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae) from the Brazilian semi-arid

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  Remarkable micro-endemism and high congeneric richness: eight new cave-restricted species of Pseudochthonius Balzan, 1892 (Pseudoscorpiones, Chthoniidae) from the Brazilian semi-arid Abstract Eight new species of pseudoscorpions belonging to the genus Pseudochthonius Balzan, 1892 are described from the semi-arid region of Brazil. Comprehensive morphological descriptions, diagnostic characters, detailed illustrations, and ecological remarks of the habitats are provided for Pseudochthonius celestialis sp. nov., P. caritas sp. nov., P. patientia sp. nov., P. temperantia sp. nov., P. diligentia sp. nov., P. castitas sp. nov., P. humilitas sp. nov., and P. benignitas sp. nov. In addition, we present a brief discussion of the potential factors underlying the remarkable congeneric species richness observed in this geographically restricted region, as well as the principal threats faced by these species. These findings underscore the importance of conserving caves in order to pr...

Taxonomic revision of the jumping goblin spider genus Orchestina Simon, 1882 (Araneae: Oonopidae) in Japan with descriptions of two new species

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Taxonomic revision of the jumping goblin spider genus Orchestina Simon, 1882 (Araneae: Oonopidae) in Japan with descriptions of two new species

Abstract

The goblin spider genus Orchestina Simon, 1882 (Araneae: Oonopidae) in Japan has been revised, recognizing nine species including two new species and four species newly recorded from Japan: O. okitsui Oi, 1958 (♂♀), O. flava Ono, 2005 (♂♀), O. sanguinea Oi, 1955 (♀), O. saaristoi Henrard & Jocqué, 2012 (♂♀, new record), O. saltitans Banks, 1894 (♂♀, new record), O. colubrina Liu, Henrard & Xu, 2019 (♂, new record), O. pavesii (Simon, 1873) (♂♀, new record), O. nojimai sp. nov. (♀) and O. insulana sp. nov. (♀). A literature survey revealed errors in the correspondences between figures and captions in a pictorial book, which likely led to the misidentification of the synanthropically introduced species O. saltitans as the forest-dwelling native species O. okitsui. The misrepresentation also gave rise to the erroneous assumption that the male of O. sanguinea had been described, although no male specimen has actually been reported. In addition, Orchestina flagella Saaristo & van Harten, 2006, is here synonymized with O. saltitans (O. flagella syn. nov.). This study provides photographs and illustrations of nine Orchestina species, including the type specimens of O. okitsui, O. flava and O. sanguinea, notes on their habitats, distribution maps, supplemental molecular data, and a graphical character matrix of Orchestina species in Japan.

Suzuki, Y. (2026). Taxonomic revision of the jumping goblin spider genus Orchestina Simon, 1882 (Araneae: Oonopidae) in Japan with descriptions of two new species. European Journal of Taxonomy, 1068(1). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2026.1068.3293