Nemastomella Mello-Leitão, 1936
Tree derived from own interpretation of genital morphological similarities.
Nemastomella comprises a heterogeneous group of small Nemastomatids with distribution on the Iberian Peninsula. Species can be fairly long-legged and similar in appearance to Mitostoma. Many show armature with rows of elongated cone-like thorns crowned with multiple small spines, while lacking bridge-thorns. Animals are mostly uniform brown to black but several species exhibit additional patterns of gold and silver spots. Genital morphology is variable but all lack penial wings characteristic for other typical Iberian Nemastomatids, such as Acromitostoma and Centetostoma.
Nemastomella comprises a heterogeneous group of small Nemastomatids with distribution on the Iberian Peninsula. Species can be fairly long-legged and similar in appearance to Mitostoma. Many show armature with rows of elongated cone-like thorns crowned with multiple small spines, while lacking bridge-thorns. Animals are mostly uniform brown to black but several species exhibit additional patterns of gold and silver spots. Genital morphology is variable but all lack penial wings characteristic for other typical Iberian Nemastomatids, such as Acromitostoma and Centetostoma.
Taxonomy and Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships
Starega (1986) used Nemastomella integripes as type species to make the genus name applicable while he synonymized the species integripes with dubia in the same article.
Prieto (2004) defined Nemastomella within a narrow concept, which Schönhofer (2013) extended assuming secondary loss of male cheliceral apophyses and allowing more variation in dorsal armament. This now integrates the species cristinae, monchiquense and sexmucronatum (in contrast to Prieto 2004, 2008) to remove them from their former invalid placement in Nemastoma.
The genus Nemastomella can be divided into two main groups based on genital morphology. One exhibits a glans that does not considerably exceed the width of the truncus, combined with an elongated stylus (monchiquense, dentipatellae, dipentata, gevia, iberica, spinosissima) and a second with inflated penial glans, accompanied with long slender spines at the base of the stylus, the latter being short and inflated at the tip (bacilliferum, cristinae, dubium, manicata). N. sexmucronatum (sensu Prieto 2004) does not match these groups but shows some intermediate but also apomorphic characters and may represents a third lineage.
Ecology and Life History
Species have been recorded from different forest communities and caves, often in combination with permanent water (Kraus 1961, Prieto 2004). The genus shows the widest distribution of all Nemastomatidae on the Iberian Peninsula and is most species rich. Species are generally allopatric.
References
Kraus, O. 1961. Die Weberknechte der Iberischen Halbinsel (Arach., Opiliones). Senckenbergiana biologica 42(4):331-363.
Prieto, C. E. 2004. El género Nemastomella Mello-Leitão 1936 (Opiliones: Dyspnoi: Nemastomatidae) en la Península Ibérica, con descripción de la primera especie de Andalucía. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 9:107-121.
Prieto, C. E. 2008. Updating the checklist of the Iberian opiliofauna: corrections, suppressions and additions. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 16:49-65.
Schönhofer, A.L. 2013. A taxonomic catalogue of the Dyspnoi Hansen and Sørensen, 1904 (Arachnida: Opiliones). Zootaxa 3679 (1): 1-68.
Starega, W. 1986. Eine neue Art der Nemastomatidae (Opiliones) aus dem Pamir, nebst nomenklatorisch-taxonomischen Anmerkungen. Bulletin de l'Académie Polonaise des Sciences, Varsovie, Série des Sciences Biologiques 34(10-12):301-305.
Credits
Page created by Axel L. Schönhofer. Angela DiDomenico helped improve the English.
Starega (1986) used Nemastomella integripes as type species to make the genus name applicable while he synonymized the species integripes with dubia in the same article.
Prieto (2004) defined Nemastomella within a narrow concept, which Schönhofer (2013) extended assuming secondary loss of male cheliceral apophyses and allowing more variation in dorsal armament. This now integrates the species cristinae, monchiquense and sexmucronatum (in contrast to Prieto 2004, 2008) to remove them from their former invalid placement in Nemastoma.
The genus Nemastomella can be divided into two main groups based on genital morphology. One exhibits a glans that does not considerably exceed the width of the truncus, combined with an elongated stylus (monchiquense, dentipatellae, dipentata, gevia, iberica, spinosissima) and a second with inflated penial glans, accompanied with long slender spines at the base of the stylus, the latter being short and inflated at the tip (bacilliferum, cristinae, dubium, manicata). N. sexmucronatum (sensu Prieto 2004) does not match these groups but shows some intermediate but also apomorphic characters and may represents a third lineage.
Ecology and Life History
Species have been recorded from different forest communities and caves, often in combination with permanent water (Kraus 1961, Prieto 2004). The genus shows the widest distribution of all Nemastomatidae on the Iberian Peninsula and is most species rich. Species are generally allopatric.
References
Kraus, O. 1961. Die Weberknechte der Iberischen Halbinsel (Arach., Opiliones). Senckenbergiana biologica 42(4):331-363.
Prieto, C. E. 2004. El género Nemastomella Mello-Leitão 1936 (Opiliones: Dyspnoi: Nemastomatidae) en la Península Ibérica, con descripción de la primera especie de Andalucía. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 9:107-121.
Prieto, C. E. 2008. Updating the checklist of the Iberian opiliofauna: corrections, suppressions and additions. Revista Ibérica de Aracnología 16:49-65.
Schönhofer, A.L. 2013. A taxonomic catalogue of the Dyspnoi Hansen and Sørensen, 1904 (Arachnida: Opiliones). Zootaxa 3679 (1): 1-68.
Starega, W. 1986. Eine neue Art der Nemastomatidae (Opiliones) aus dem Pamir, nebst nomenklatorisch-taxonomischen Anmerkungen. Bulletin de l'Académie Polonaise des Sciences, Varsovie, Série des Sciences Biologiques 34(10-12):301-305.
Credits
Page created by Axel L. Schönhofer. Angela DiDomenico helped improve the English.
