Análise filogenética e taxonomia das aranhas-caranguejo dos gêneros runcinioides, synaemops e wechselia, (Araneae: Thomisidae)

Abstract

Runcionioides, Synaempos and Wechselia are three Neotropical genera that belong to the tribe Misumenini (except Wechselia) and share some characteristics, such as long bristles, convex and broadly truncated cephalothorax, and similar occurrence records. Runcinioides has four species that were recently revised, two of which are considered incertae sedis; Syneamops, which also has four species, is a genus known only from the original descriptions, as well as Wechselia, whose description dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In order to solve these problems, this dissertation is divided into two chapters. The first performed a phylogenetic analysis with the objective of testing the monophyly of the three genera, including three new species that are presumably part of one of these genera. The test included 37 specimens from different genera of Misumenini in a cladistic analysis based on morphological characters. This analysis resulted in the synonymy of Syneamops to Misumenops, the proposed transfer of Runcinioides pustulatus and Synaemops notabilis to Wechselia. The second chapter was the taxonomic work escribing the new species allocated to Wechselia and presented other notations and synonymy to organize the taxonomy of Wechselia and Runcinioides. In this paper the three new species previously indicated in the phylogeny are described (W. aethes sp. nov., W. ignota sp. nov. and W. mirabillis sp. nov.). Species newly allocated in Wechselia (W. steinbachi, W. notabillis and W. pustulata) are redescribed. Misumenops pugilator is considered a junior synonym of W. steinbachi, and R. souzai of W. notabillis. The female of Wechselia steinbachi is described for the first time and the occurrence map for the species of the genus is presented.