Vitalius australis
Brazil
Type Locality : Cândido de Abreu State of Paraná, Brazil
Etymology : Generic name in reference to the region where the species is found (Southern Region of Brazil). The genus name is male.
11526
Male Activity
Theraphosinae is the most diverse subfamily of Theraphosidae spiders, but their
evolutionary history remains unresolved to date. This problem is common in
taxonomic groups with phylogenetic hypotheses that have often been based
only on qualitative morphological characters and, rarely, on molecular analyses.
Phylogenomics has significantly contributed to the understanding of the evolution
ofmany non-model groups, such as spiders. Herein, we employed ultraconserved
elements (UCEs) phylogenomics to propose a new hypothesis for a group of
Theraphosinae genera, namely Lasiodoriforms: Vitalius, Lasiodora, Eupalaestrus,
Pterinopelma, Proshapalopus, and Nhandu. We propose three genera and their
respective morphological diagnoses are provided. Our phylogeny supports the
transfer of species from the genus Vitalius to Pterinopelma and Proshapalopus
and from Proshapalopus to Eupalaestrus. Finally, we describe a new species of
Vitalius from Southern Brazil. Based on these three new generic descriptions
and transferred species, the Lasiodoriform tarantulas comprise nine genera from
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and the genus Vitalius now includes
seven species.
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 11(1177627): 1-19