Acantholibitia, Mello-Leitao, 1928

Medrano, Miguel, Kury, Adriano Brilhante & Mendes, Amanda Cruz, 2022, Morphology-based cladistics splinters the century-old dichotomy of the pied harvestmen (Arachnida: Gonyleptoidea: Cosmetidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195, pp. 585-672 : 601-602

ACANTHOLIBITIA MELLO- LEITÃO, 1928 TRANSL. NOV.

Acantholibitia Mello-Leitão, 1928: 10 . Type-species by original designation: Acantholibitia pustulosa Mello-Leitão, 1928 .

Bodunius Mello-Leitão, 1935: 376 . Type-species by original designation: Bodunius biocellatus Mello- Leitão, 1935, syn. nov.

Fortalezius Roewer, 1947: 32 . Type-species by original designation: Fortalezius excellens Roewer, 1947 , syn. nov.

Elleria Piza, 1947: 266 . Junior homonym of Elleria Raymond, 1944 (Xiphosura) . Type-species by original designation: Elleria bilunata Piza, 1947 , syn. nov.

Elleriana Kury, 2003: 53 . Nomen novum for Elleria Piza, 1947 , syn. nov.

Etymology: Acantholibitia , from Greek άΚανθα (thorn) + pre-existing genus Libitia ; gender feminine. Bodunius , from Portuguese bodum (pungent stink), referring to the repugnatory secretion; gender masculine. Fortalezius from toponym Fortaleza; gender masculine. Elleria from the middle name of Estonian/ Brazilian arachnologist Hélia Eller Monteiro Soares; gender feminine.

Diagnosis: Small cosmetids (DS length <3 mm) with short and delicate legs. Outline of DS gamma- type, with narrow carapace and well-marked constriction. DS covered with notable granules, sometimes white coloured. Interocular distance narrow (one-fifth of carapace width). Areas I – III with paramedian spines, other areas may be armed or not. Stylus of penis not enlarged and with a complete wattle going to the base of glans. Stylus with stylar barbs .

Included species: Acantholibitia pustulosa Mello-Leitão, 1928 ; A. biocellata ( Mello-Leitão, 1935) comb. nov.; A. excellens ( Roewer, 1947) comb. nov. and A. pluriarcuata ( Mello-Leitão, 1936) comb. nov.

Combined distribution: Brazilian portion of semi-arid diagonal of South America ( Fig. 10 ).

Figures

Figure 10. Map of known distribution of Acantholibitia. Numbers correspond to the following WWF ecoregions:1 = Cerrado, 2 = Bahia interior forest, 3 = Maranhão Babaçu forest, 4 = Caatinga Enclaves moist forest, 5 = Caatinga, 6 = Pernambuco interior forest, 7 = Pernambuco coastal forest.