A new monster from southwest Oregon forests: Cryptomaster behemoth sp. n. (Opiliones, Laniatores, Travunioidea)

By

Starrett, James
Derkarabetian, Shahan
Richart, Casey
Cabrero, Allan
Hedin, Marshal

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2016

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

555

Pages

Nov-35

Subjects

Bayes factor delimitation , cryptic species , DNA barcoding , genealogical congruence , Short-Range Endemic

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.555.6274

 

Abstract

The monotypic genus Cryptomaster Briggs, 1969 was described based on individuals from a single locality in southwestern Oregon. The described species C. leviathan Briggs, 1969 was named for its large body size compared to most travunioid Laniatores. However, as the generic name suggests, Cryptomaster are notoriously difficult to find, and few subsequent collections have been recorded for this genus. Here, we increase sampling of Cryptomaster to 15 localities, extending their known range from the Coast Range northeast to the western Cascade Mountains of southern Oregon. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data reveal deep phylogenetic breaks consistent with independently evolving lineages. We use discovery and validation species delimitation approaches to generate and test species hypotheses, including a coalescent species delimitation method to test multi-species hypotheses. For delimited species, we use light microscopy and SEM to discover diagnostic morphological characters. Although Cryptomaster has a small geographic distribution, this taxon is consistent with other short-range endemics in having deep phylogenetic breaks indicative of species level divergences. Herein we describe Cryptomaster behemoth sp. n., and provide morphological diagnostic characters for identifying C. leviathan and C. behemoth.