Speciation without changes in genital shape: A case study on Brazilian pholcid spiders (Araneae: Pholcidae)

Speciation in arthropods is usually coupled with marked changes in genital morphology, which explains the usefulness of genitalia in distinguishing closely related species. The present paper describes specimens that are assigned to separate species based on extreme size differences and colour patter...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoologischer Anzeiger 2005-06, Vol.243 (4), p.273-279
Main Authors: Huber, Bernhard A., Rheims, Cristina A., Brescovit, Antonio D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Genitalia
Psilochorus
Size
Species specificity
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Summary:Speciation in arthropods is usually coupled with marked changes in genital morphology, which explains the usefulness of genitalia in distinguishing closely related species. The present paper describes specimens that are assigned to separate species based on extreme size differences and colour pattern differences, but the shape of the genitalia is essentially identical. We argue that such cryptic species may be more common than currently assumed, but if marked morphological (non-genital) differences are missing, traditional taxonomic methodology is biased against discovering them. The two new species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are tentatively assigned to the genus Psilochorus: Psilochorus itaguyrussu n. sp. and Psilochorus ybytyriguara n. sp.
ISSN:0044-5231
1873-2674
DOI:10.1016/j.jcz.2004.12.001