Pied Harvestmen of the Antilles

Harvestmen of the Neotropical household Cosmetidae have been featured on this web site a few instances earlier than. Every time, I’ve commented on the dire taxonomic state of this numerous household, with many genera being poorly or inaccurately outlined. Because of intensive (and persevering with) research in recent times by Braxilian researchers and their associates, this case has been progressively bettering, however we nonetheless have loads to study.

Cynortoides sp., copyright Damion Laren Whyte.

Cynortoides is a genus at present holding ten species of cosmetid. Most of those are discovered on the islands of the Larger Antilles—Cuba, Jamaica and Hispaniola—although the genus has additionally been recorded from adjoining areas of Mexico and Venezuela (Kury 2003). As with different cosmetids, Cynortoides has traditionally been outlined largely be options of the exterior spination, together with a scarcity of spines on the legs, two pairs of spines within the rear a part of the dorsal scutum, and no spines on the free stomach segments (Mello-Leitão 1933). Additionally as with different cosmetid genera, Cynortoides species are colourfully patterned. The identify of 1 species, C. v-album, refers to its attribute shiny white V marking on the again (although personally, I might describe the sample as extra of a Y).

Although this genus doesn’t but seem to have been revised intimately, a few of its species have been included in a current broader research of cosmetid phylogeny by Medrano et al. (2021). They discovered sturdy assist for an affiliation between the Cuban C. cubanus and the Hispaniolan C. v-album, along with two different Cuban species beforehand included within the associated genus Cynorta. These final two species have been consequently transferred to Cynortoides although Medrano et al. didn’t touch upon whether or not this affected the genus’ established prognosis. The authors speculated that additional research may show Cynortoides to be a strictly Larger Antillean genus with mainland information being misplaced. Cynortoides wouldn’t be distinctive on this regard: the islands of the Caribbean are house to quite a few lineages discovered nowhere else, reflecting a protracted historical past impartial of the adjoining continents.

REFERENCES

Kury, A. B. 2003. Annotated catalogue of the Laniatores of the New World (Arachida, Opiliones). Revista Ibérica de Aracnología, particular monographic quantity 1: 1–337.

Medrano, M., A. B. Kury & A. C. Mendes. In press 2021. Morphology-based cladistics splinters the century-old dichotomy of the pied harvestmen (Arachnida: Gonyleptoidea: Cosmetidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Mello-Leitão, C. F. de. 1933. Notas sobre os opiliões do Brasil. Descritos na obra postuma de Sörensen: “Descriptiones Laniatorum”. Boletim do Museu Nacional 9 (1): 99–114.