New Australasian Zalmoxidae (Opiliones: Laniatores) and a new case of male polymorphism in Opiliones

Abstract

Six new species of litter-inhabiting harvestmen, four from New Caledonia and two from Australia, in the genus ZalmoxisSørensen, 1886 (Opiliones: Laniatores: Zalmoxidae) are described and illustrated using light microscropy and SEM. Amolecular phylogeny including these and related species indicates that the New Caledonian Zalmoxis are monophyletic,though the morphology of one species is consistent with the apomorphies of Metazalmoxis Roewer, 1912. Accordingly,Zalmoxis Sørensen, 1886 is considered the senior synonym of Metazalmoxis Roewer, 1912 new synonymy. Zalmoxistherefore remains the sole zalmoxid genus outside of the Neotropics. The new species add significantly to the known mor-phological diversity of Zalmoxidae, specifically in the case of one species from Queensland, Australia, with polymorphic males—the first such record for the superfamily Zalmoxoidea.