Molecular phylogeny and systematic revision of the Brazilian species of <i>Mastigoproctus</i> Pocock, 1894 (Arachnida: Uropygi: Mastigoproctinae)

Daniel Pereira; Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha

Just Accepted

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Molecular phylogeny and systematic revision of the Brazilian species of Mastigoproctus Pocock, 1894 (Arachnida: Uropygi: Mastigoproctinae)

Daniel Pereira , Ricardo Pinto-da-Rocha

Abstract

Uropygi is an order of arachnids commonly known as vinegaroons or whip-scorpions. So far, two genera are known to occur in Brazil: Thelyphonellus Pocock, 1894 and Mastigoproctus Pocock, 1894. We examined the morphology of 182 specimens of Brazilian Mastigoproctus and sequenced 42 specimens for phylogenetic analyses, using mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers. Phylogenetic inference was performed under maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. Our results suggest that the Brazilian species previously included in Mastigoproctus represent two different genera, with the following species and synonymies:the revalidated Amauromastigon Mello-Leitão, 1931, composed of A. maximus (Tarnani, 1889) comb. nov. (= Mastigoproctus annectens Werner, 1916, M. butleri Pocock, 1894 and M. perditus Mello-Leitão, 1931), and Heptatarsus gen. nov., composed of H. brasilianus (Koch, 1843), comb. nov. (= Mastigoproctus minensis Mello-Leitão, 1931) and H. custodioi, sp. nov.. Also, we urge caution when using certain morphological characters when describing uropygid taxa based on specimens in early developmental stages.

IS24068 Accepted 18 November 2024