Three new species of Aprusia (Araneae: Oonopidae) from Sri Lanka with a phylogenetic analysis of the genus |
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| Authors: | UGSL Ranasinghe |
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| Institution: | Evolution, Ecology and Biodiversity Project, National Institute of Fundamental Studies, Kandy, Sri Lanka |
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| Abstract: | The South Asian goblin spider genus Aprusia Simon, 1893 currently consists of five species. All species are narrow endemics with very restricted distributions. In this paper, the Sri Lankan species are revised and three new species described from both sexes: Aprusia koslandensis n. sp., Aprusia rawanaellensis n. sp. and Aprusia vankhedei n. sp. We also provide some notes on the poorly known species A. strennus and A. vestigator. In addition, we present a key to adult Aprusia and a distribution map of the Sri Lankan species, highlighting their diversity in the highly fragmented forests of the island. To test the monophyly of Aprusia and infer relationships among its species, a matrix of 49 morphological characters scored for 11 taxa (seven ingroup and four outgroup) was assembled and analysed. The monophyly of Aprusia is recovered and supported by three unambiguous synapomorphies: the presence of smooth male endites, the presence of leg spines on the prolateral side of the femur I and the procurved ridge of the postepigastric scutum. www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:40352A9B-F455-4F41-B293-FF57BACA2997 |
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| Keywords: | Biodiversity Sri Lanka indicator species conservation leaf litter Ceylon taxonomy |
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