Whip spiders (Arachnida, Amblypigi) from Colombian Caves: A review, new records and description of a new speciesAuthorVillarreal, Osvaldo0000-0001-5355-3723Centro de Ecología, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), km 11 carretera Panamericana, Altos de Pipe, Miranda 1204 - A, Venezuela & Instituto y Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Maracay, Aragua, VenezuelaAuthorDelgado-Santa, Leonardo0000-0002-9714-6924Grupo de Investigación ECDYSIS, Programa de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Básicas y Tecnologías, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Quindío, ColombiaAuthorLasso, Carlos A.0000-0003-3927-8109Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, D. C., ColombiatextSubterranean Biology20252025-05-1952128journal article30989810.3897/subtbiol.52.15035773c04934-8277-4a50-a839-269ddc37ba1e2D60448B-D8BC-4B33-9533-77426508274BParaphrynus laevifrons
(Pocock, 1894 b)
Figs 10 A – F
,
11 A – D
,
15Material examined.Colombia
•
1 ♀1 ♂
;
Providencia Island
;
Represa túnel artificial; Freshwater Bay
,
Isla de Providencia
,
Archipiélago de San Andrés
,
Providencia y Santa Catalina
;
12°20'38.4"N
,
81°23'16.9"W
; 0 m a. s. l.;
Carlos A. Lasso
leg. (
IAvH
-I-7879
) (
New record
)
. •
1 ♀1 ♂
;
Cueva Bat Hole, Chay Hill
,
Isla de Providencia
,
Archipiélago de San Andrés
,
Providencia y Santa Catalina
;
13°20'20"N
,
81°23'44.8"W
; 0 m a. s. l.;
Carlos A. Lasso
leg. (
PV-39
) (
New record
)
. •
♀♂
;
Cueva de Sara
,
Isla de San Andrés
,
Archipiélago de San Andrés
,
Providencia y Santa Catalina
;
12°32'41.4"N
,
81°43'37.8"W
; 0 m a. s. l.;
Carlos A. Lasso
leg. (
IAvH
-I-7881
)
.
Paraphrynus laevifrons
from Provendicia Island (
IAvH
-I-7880
)
A
carapace, dorsal view
B
sternum, ventral view
C, D
pedipalpal femur, dorsal (
C
) and ventral (
D
) views
E, F
pedipalpal patella, dorsal (
E
) and ventral (
F
) views
G, H
male spermatophore organ, dorsal (
G
) and ventral (
H
) views
I, J
female gonopodes, dorsal (
I
) and posterior (
J
) views. Scale bars: 1 mm (
A, B
); 5 mm (
C – F
).
Paraphrynus laevifrons
(
IAvH
-I-7880
). Reproductive structures
A, B
male spermatophore organ, dorsal (
A
) and ventral (
B
) views
C, D
female, gonopods, dorsal (
C
), and posterior (
D
) views. Scale bars: 1 mm.
Records.Colombia
,
San Andrés
(
Chirivi and Armas 2012
); Providencia; Chocó (
Chirivi and Armas 2012
).
Remarks.Paraphrynus laevifrons
is a species with a wide distribution in Central and North America, including the Yucatán Peninsula, where it inhabits various environments, including caves (
Reddell 1981
;
Chirivi and Armas 2012
). The species lacks a precise type locality, being broadly described from “ West coastal America. ” In
Colombia
, it has only been recorded from two localities — Isla
San Andrés
and Chocó (
Chirivi and Armas 2012
). Our study provides the first record of this species from Providencia Island (Caribbean Sea), as well as the first record of
P. laevifrons
in a cave habitat in
Colombia
. Due to (1) the absence of a specific type locality, (2) the lack of direct examination of the
holotype
, and (3) the morphological similarity of our specimens with those described by
Chirivi and Armas (2012)
, we have followed their identification to designate the specimens from Providencia studied here. It is noteworthy, however, that the material identified as
Paraphrynus laevifrons
from Guatemala by (
Armas et al. 2017
) shows significant differences, casting doubt on the conspecificity of these populations. Integrative systematics studies reveal a cryptic diversity in some populations from Southwestern North America (
Cazzaniga and Prendini 2024
).
Natural history.The specimens from Providencia Island were collected from a cave located along the coast, with the upper section consisting of sand and dry guano, while the lower section is inundated with seawater and subjected to wave action. The cave is situated approximately 10 meters from the shoreline, exposed to the effects of wave impact. The adaptation of these species to such conditions remains unclear.