The first harvestman described from Bocas del Toro Archipelago: a new Poecilaemula (Opiliones: Cosmetidae) and notes about the genus

Abstract

ABSTRACT The discovery of a new Cosmetidae species from Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama, with unusual sexual dimorphism and colouration, presented an identification challenge due to the limited knowledge of the taxonomy of cosmetids in Central America. The new species is notable for the extensive bright orange blots on the dorsal scutum and by the unusual structure of tibia IV of males, which is not incrassate, and bears two compact rows of strong spines. After examination of both type and non-type specimens of the type species of the genus Poecilaemula Roewer, 1912 (Meterginus signatus Banks, 1909), we decided that the new species should be assigned to this genus, and that the current circumscription of the genus is debatable as a natural group. Here, we propose a new definition of Poecilaemula, which includes three species: the type species from Costa Rica; Poecilaemula iching sp. n. from western Panama; and the species Poecilaemula eutypa (Chamberlin, 1925) comb. n. from eastern Panama, which is newly transferred from Paecilaema C.L. Koch, 1839. Additionally, Paecilaemana reimoseri Roewer, 1933 is considered a new junior subjective synonym of Meterginus signatus Banks 1909 (currently under Poecilaemula). The five South American species currently included in Poecilaemula reveal a geographic discrepancy, and they should be transferred to other genera in future investigations because they do not share any special similarity with the type species of the genus. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0101B1EE-CF5F-4781-96FF-E797C71CF05C