Shaking the tree of the bark crab spiders: Phylogeny of the Neotropical Stephanopis species reveals a new genus and revalidates Paratobias (Araneae: Thomisidae)

CÁCERES VIECELLI SIMÕES PIRES, RAFAELA; TEIXEIRA, RENATO; GUZATI, CATHERINE; MACHADO, MIGUEL; GRISMADO, CRISTIAN J.

Canterbury

Congreso; 21TH International Congress of Arachnology; 2019

International Society of Arachnology

The present study is aimed at the cladistic analysis and taxonomic review of the Neotropical species of Stephanopis and also provides discussions on its relationships with other close related genera. Our results were based on parsimony analyses of a matrix with 42 terminal taxa scored for 97 morphological characters that suggested Stephanopis as polyphyletic, with its component species emerging in four different clades. Based on the strong branch support and strong morphological evidence we propose that five species previously assigned as ?Neotropical Stephanopis? (S. macrostyla, S. parahybana, S. pentacantha, S. reniformis and S. quinquetuberculata) and four new species to be described form a new genus. New distribution records are provided and the male of S. parahybana is presented for the first time. We discuss the historical taxonomic background of some genera related to Stephanopis. We propose the revalidation of the genus Paratobias and describe a new species. We transfer Stephanopis furcillata to Sidymella, propose Stephanopis borgmeyeri as nomen dubium, transfer the female of S. stelloides to Epicadus, and consider this species as senior synonym of S. trilobata and E.caudatus.