20th International Congress of Arachnology

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DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE REPORTS | No. 3, July 2, 2016
The Pacific Northwest region of the United States has a
complex geological history, which likely has influenced
the distribution and differentiation of the taxa that
reside there. Chthonid pseudoscorpions in this region
primarily inhabit leaf litter in moist evergreen forests,
and their distribution and differentiation may reflect the
geological and biotic factors that have shaped current
forest ecosystems. In this study we focus on analyzing
the geographic distribution, genetic relatedness, and
potential morphological variation among populations
of taxa within the pseudoscorpion genus Apochthonius
in western Oregon, USA. We recover multiple cytochrome
oxidase 1 clades (albeit weakly supported) that corre-
spond to geographic location, but that do not correspond
to currently described species. Apochthonius minimus
sequences form a monophyletic group within a much
larger clade of Apochthonius occidentalis sequences.
Despite high sequence divergence among A. occidentalis
from different geographic regions, we so far have found
no anatomical features that can be used to distinguish
among these individuals. We suggest that A. occidenta-
lis, as currently described, represents multiple cryptic
species, and that to retain the species name A. minimus
would require naming each of these separate clades.
Keywords: phylogeography, systematics, cryptic species,
Pacific Northwest, pseudoscorpion
Student - oral presentation
A revision of the spider genus Drassodella
Hewitt, 1916 (Araneae: Gallieniellidae)
*Zingisile Mbo, Charles R. Haddad
Department of Zoology & Entomology, University
of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300,
South Africa
The genus Drassodella Hewitt, 1916 is one of four Afro-
tropical genera of Gallieniellidae, following the recent
transfer of Toxoniella Jocqué & Warui, 2002 to Liocrani-
dae. Drassodella is presently represented by seven species,
all endemic to South Africa. The type material of six of
the described species has been examined: D. melana
Tucker, 1923, D. quinquelabecula Tucker, 1923, D.
salisburyi Hewitt, 1916, D. septemmaculata (Strand,
1909), D. tenebrosa Lawrence, 1938 and D. vasivulva
Tucker, 1923, while recent field work yielded a female of
D. purcelli Tucker, 1923. A further 13 new species are
recognised from museum collections and recent field
work. Based on the genitalic structure, there appear to be
two distinct species groups. The melana species group,
which includes D. melana, D. tenebrosa and eight new
species mainly distributed in eastern and northern South
Africa, is characterised by very conservative genitalic
morphology in both sexes. The salisburyi species group,
distributed in the southern half of South Africa, includes
the remaining 10 species, of which five are new. Females
display considerable variation in the structure of the
epigynal hoods, lateral ridges and spermathecae, while
the shape of the male palpal embolus, median apophysis,
conductor and tibial apophysis also varies considerably.
Keywords: endemic, ground-dwelling, new species,
South Africa
Oral presentation
Comparison of rapid assessment protocol
data from Panama and Congo Basin sites
Jean-Louis Juakaly Mbumba1, Michael L. Draney2, Petra
Sierwald 3
1Faculté des Sciences, Université de Kisangani, Demo-
cratic Republic of the Congo; 2Department Natural &
Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay,
Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; 3Division of Insects, Field
Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Since 2007, we have been developing a rapid assessment
protocol (RAP), for efficient collection of statistically
comparable samples of spiders and millipedes from differ-
ent habitats. This method intensively samples randomly
selected equal areas, facilitating comparison of fauna,
and requires only low cost equipment and novice field
personnel. We have collected samples from monodomi-
nant and mixed rainforest sites in Central Africa (DRC),
and from younger and more mature rainforest types in
Central America (Panama), in both wet and dry seasons.
The spider faunas of these areas are species-rich but
20th International Congress of Arachnology