Heteroonops (Araneae, Oonopidae) spiders from Hispaniola: the discovery of ten new species.

Nadine Dupérré,Ella Santana-Propper,Ingi Agnarsson,Charlotte Francisco,Greta J Binford

doi:10.3897/zookeys.964.51554

Abstract

The Caribbean biodiversity hotspot harbors vast reserves of undiscovered species. A large-scale inventory of Caribbean arachnids (CarBio) is uncovering new species across the arachnid tree of life, and allowing inference of the evolutionary history that has generated this diversity. Herein we describe ten new species of Heteroonops (Oonopidae, or goblin spiders), from Hispaniola: H. scapulasp. nov., H. jurassicussp. nov., H. aylinalegreaesp. nov., H. verrucasp. nov., H. renebarbaisp. nov., H. yumasp. nov., H. carlosviquezisp. nov., H. gabrielsantosisp. nov., H. solanllycarreroaesp. nov. and H. constanzasp. nov. The occurrence of the pantropical type species Heteroonops spinimanus (Simon, 1891) is reported and new localities are given for: H. validus (Bryant, 1948), H. vega (Platnick & Dupérré, 2009) and H. castelloides (Platnick & Dupérré, 2009). Molecular phylogenies indicate substantial genetic divergence separating these taxa. This work adds to evidence that the depth of diversity in the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot is particularly striking for tiny taxa living in leaf litter.

Highlights

The Greater Antilles islands form the most species-rich landmasses in the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot
These islands serve as exceptional systems for studies of species formation and biogeography (Ricklefs and Bermingham 2008)
New species continue to be discovered as new areas are more thoroughly sampled, such as during the ongoing Caribbean arachnid biodiversity inventory

Summary

Introduction

The Greater Antilles islands form the most species-rich landmasses in the Caribbean biodiversity hotspot. These islands serve as exceptional systems for studies of species formation and biogeography (Ricklefs and Bermingham 2008). In 2006, the Planetary Biodiversity Inventory (PBI, 2020) project on Oonopidae was launched. At the time only 459 species of Oonopidae were known (PBI, 2020). The PBI project led to the discovery and descriptions of nearly 1300 new oonopid species, increasing our knowledge of the fauna by 300%. New species continue to be discovered as new areas are more thoroughly sampled, such as during the ongoing Caribbean arachnid biodiversity inventory (project CarBio)

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