Light from dark: A relictual troglobite reveals a broader ancestral distribution for kimulid harvestmen (Opiliones: Laniatores: Kimulidae) in South America.

ABSTRACT: A new troglobitic harvestman, Relictopiolus galadriel gen. nov et sp. nov., is described from Olhos d'Água cave, Itacarambi, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Morphological characters, including male genitalia and exomorphology, suggest that this species belongs to the family Kimulidae, and it appears to share the greatest similarities with Tegipiolus pachypus. Bayesian inference analyses of a molecular dataset strongly support the inclusion of this species in Kimulidae and confirm the hypothesized sister-group relationship between R. galadriel and T. pachypus. A time calibrated phylogeny indicates that these sister-taxa diverged from a common ancestor approximately 40 Mya, during the Paleogene. The current range of Kimulidae illustrates a remarkable disjunct distribution, and leads us to hypoth

SUBMITTER: Perez-Gonzalez A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5708626 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature