In this study we describe three new litter inhabiting species of Mesabolivar González-Sponga, 1998 from nine urban forest remnants in the metropolitan region of the city of São Paulo, Brazil: M. forceps, M. mairyara and M. cavicelatus. In three of these remnants, we conduced a three year sampling using pitfall traps. Mesabolivar forceps sp. nov. was the most abundant pholcid (n=273 adults), always present in the samples, but with highest numbers in spring and summer. Mesabolivar mairyara sp. nov. was the second most abundant species (n=32), but the majority of individuals were collected in March 2001. Only three individuals of M. cavicelatus sp. nov. were collected.
The genus Metagonia Simon 1893 currently has 81 species widely distributed in South and Central America (Platnick, 2011). The majority of species are leaf-dwellers (Gertsch 1986; Huber 1997; 2004; Huber & Schütte 2009) but some inhabit leaf-litter (Huber et al. 2005) or live in caves (Gertsch 1986; Gertsch & Peck 1992; Huber 1998; Pérez González & Huber 1999). Three species were described from cave environments as eyeless troglobites: M. bellavista Gertsch & Peck 1992 and M. reederi Gertsch & Peck 1992 from the Galapagos Islands and M. debrasi Pérez González & Huber 1999 from Cuba. These species may be local relicts from extinct groups (Gertsch & Peck 1992, Pérez González & Huber 1999). Huber (2000) placed these eyeless species in his ‘group 4’.
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