On the Cyphophthalmi (Arachnida, Opiliones) Types from the Museo Civico Di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria”

Abstract

The Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “Giacomo Doria,” Genoa, hosts one of the most important historical collections of the Opiliones suborder Cyphophthalmi, including all the known specimens for the type species of the genera Leptopsalis (Stylocellidae), Miopsalis (Stylocellidae), and Parogovia (Neogoveidae), as well as several other types in the families Ogoveidae and Stylocellidae (it is unclear whether specimens in Pettalidae and Sironidae constitute types). These specimens were recently made available to us for study, and given their importance, we discuss and illustrate them here. Study of this collection allows confirmation of the validity of Leptopsalis, considered a synonym of Stylocellus for more than a century, and of Miopsalis, considered a nomen dubium in the most recent catalogue of the group. It furthermore helps to clarify the identity of several other species in the family Stylocellidae. Here we formally resurrect the genera Miopsalis Thorell, 1890, and Leptopsalis Thorell, 1882, and transfer several species to these genera: M. collinsi (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; M. gryllospeca (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; M. lionota (Pocock, 1897) comb. nov.; M. sabah (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; M. silhavyi (Rambla, 1991) comb. nov.; M. tarumpitao (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; L. dumoga (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; L. hillyardi (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; L. javana Thorell, 1882; L. lydekkeri (Clouse & Giribet, 2007) comb. nov.; L. modesta (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904) comb. nov.; L. novaguinea (Clouse & Giribet, 2007) comb. nov.; L. ramblae (Giribet, 2002) comb. nov.; L. sulcata (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904) comb. nov.; L. tambusisi (Shear, 1993) comb. nov.; L. thorellii (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904) comb. nov.; L. weberii (Hansen & Sørensen, 1904) comb. nov.